Are You Ready?

 

The much waited for return of our Lord Jesus Christ is finally at hand.  The world has had many false wake up calls over time, but this one is for real. The question is, are you ready for Him and for the devastation that precedes His arrival?

In the year 2000, we unveiled the prophecy of Daniel 12, the only one in the Bible that gives us a specific timetable for that awesome event, so there is no excuse for anyone to be caught unprepared.  But such is the condition of the world in which we live that the last thing people want to hear these days is talk about the end of this age.

Jesus Christ knew that there would be little faith in the world when He returns, and that is why He said that the world would be taken by surprise by the Great Tribulation that precedes His arrival.

 

                Luke 18:8b “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"

 Mat 24:37  But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

 Mat 24:38  For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,

 Mat 24:39  and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

 

There are many people who do not wish to see Jesus Christ coming too soon, thinking that a delay in His return would give them time to prepare for His arrival.  But that is a false hope, for if they are not ready to face Him now, there is little chance that they will ever be.  All adult human beings are supposed to be ready to face their Creator and their Saviour any time anywhere.   The problem is, Christian preachers themselves are postponing Jesus’ return to an indefinite time, supposedly because many other prophecies are yet to be fulfilled.  Well, having looked carefully at both Scriptures and history, we can tell you that no prophecy is yet to be fulfilled before the return of Jesus Christ, other than the worldwide Great Tribulation.  All prophecies about this time, have been, or are in the process of being fulfilled.  

There has never been a more urgent and appropriate time to turn to God than it is now.  Turning to God in the midst of widespread unbelief, gives you greater merit in heaven.  That is why Jesus Christ said that:

 

Mat 20:16  "So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen."

 

The whole world will soon bend their knees and bow their heads before the Almighty, but most people will get little reward for doing so at the last minute, at judgment time when they have no alternative.  

 

Isa 45:22  "Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

Isa 45:23  I have sworn by Myself; The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, And shall not return, That to Me every knee shall bow, Every tongue shall take an oath.

 

Rom 14:11  “For it is written: "As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every

Rom 14:12 tongue shall confess to God”. So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.”

 

One must be ready to face his Maker and answer for himself at all times. That is why those who do not wish to see Jesus Christ now will end up paying with their life.

 

Luke 19:27  “Bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.”

 

The main reason put forward by preachers who think that the return of Jesus Christ is still a long way off is that according to them Antichrist must come and deceive the world first.  They do not know that Antichrist has been in the world ever since the time of the Apostles. Here is proof of it.

 

1Jn 4:2  By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,

1Jn 4:3  and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

2Jn 1:7  For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

 

Antichrist was already in the world when Apostle John wrote those words.  And who is an antichrist?  Anyone who does not confess that Jesus Christ is coming in the flesh.  In other words, anyone who does not acknowledge that Jesus Christ is living His life in us through the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit that lived in Him when He was in the world, is an antichrist.

 

2Co 13:5  Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.

 

There is no need for another Antichrist to come into the world, because the world has long been deceived by a great Antichrist.  People do not know who that is because he masquerades as a man of God and an angel of light.  

 

2 Cor 11:13  “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. 

2 Cor 11:14   And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. 

2 Cor 11:15  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.”

 

Satan has been posing as an angel of light for a long time, and his servants as ministers of righteousness for just as long. That is why Jesus Christ began and ended His prophecy about the Great Tribulation that precedes His return with a warning against ministers that preach falsehood, all while claiming to preach the true Christ.

 

Mat 24:4  “And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you.

Mat 24:5  "For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.”

Mat 24:11  "Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.

Mat 24:12  "And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.

Mat 24:13  "But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”  "For then there will be great tribulation,

Mat 24:21  such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 

Mat 24:22  "And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened”. 

Mat 24:23  Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it.

Mat 24:24 "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

Mat 24:25  "See, I have told you beforehand.”

 

Three times Jesus Christ used the word ‘deceive’ in that chapter, every time associating it with ministers who admit that He is the Christ, yet who deceive their followers.  How do they do that? By preaching a false gospel in His name.  Notice what Apostle Paul said.

 

Gal 1:6  “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel,

Gal 1:7   which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 

Gal 1:8   But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.  

Gal 1:9  As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.” 

 

Now if they started deceiving the people whom the Apostles had converted even at that time, how much worse do you think things might have gotten by now?  The answer may come when you understand that closely linked with the gospel of the Antichrist, is that of the ‘man of sin’.  He too is supposed to come and conquer the world before the return of Jesus Christ.  And guess what?  He was in the world at the time of the Apostles too.   

 

2 Th 2:1  “Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you,

2 Th 2:2  not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.

2 Th 2:3  Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,

2 Th 2:4  who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God,

2 Th 2:5  showing himself that he is God.  Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?”

 

Like the Antichrist of Apostle John, the ‘man of sin’ of Apostle Paul was also in the world at that time.  That ‘man of sin’ was already sitting in the temple of God, claiming to be God, or ‘Holy Father’, when Apostle Paul spoke about him to the Thessalonians.  The reason people keep stumbling over this issue is that they do not know what temple Apostle Paul was referring to.  It was not the temple in Jerusalem, for no man ever stood in that temple preaching Christ while he himself was worshiped as God.  The temple Apostle Paul was referring to was in Rome, the capital of the world in those days, and soon the capital of Christianity.  A false Christianity of course, for not true Christian would ever usurp God’s title of ‘Holy Father’.  

The fact that Apostle Paul was not able to reveal his identity at that time tells us that he was a greatly feared man – one who could have caused much damage to those who spoke evil of him.  With the passage of time this is exactly what the papacy has done to the true followers of Jesus Christ. Countless people have been burned at stake for refusing to accept the counterfeited religion of the ‘man of sin’.  As Jesus said:

 

John 16:2  "They will put you out of the synagogues [and churches]; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.”

 

Now it should come as no surprise that the Antichrist and the ‘man of sin’, which is really one and the same, have been in the world from the beginning of Christianity, because the Devil himself has been the ‘god of this age’ from the beginning of the world. 

 

2 Cor 4:3  “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded,

2 Cor 4:4  who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.”

 

   It is an extraordinary fact that no other powerful religious institution and position has been in the world at the time of Jesus Christ that would still be in the world at the time of His return, except the position of Pontifex Maximus – the papacy.    

 

2 Th 2:8  “And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of Hid coming.

2 Th 2:9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan,

2 Th 2:10  with all power, signs,and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 

2 Th 2:11  And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe

2 Th 2:12  the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” 

 

Two important prophecies come out of this passage.  First, that the lawless one will be revealed and destroyed at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.  The people of God have known who that person is for a long time; only the world at large will be surprised to discover his true identity at the last minute. 

Second, the ‘lawless one’ deceived those who did not receive the truth and had pleasure in unrighteousness.  And what happened to them?  God gave them strong delusion that they should believe the lie.  What lie?  The false gospel of salvation! See TCH No 11 if you do not know the difference.  Apostle Paul used similar language in his letter to the Romans. 

 

Rom 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because

Rom 1:19  what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.

Rom 1:20  For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead,

Rom 1:21  so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts,

Rom 1:22  and their foolish hearts were darkened.  Professing to be wise,

Rom 1:23  they became fools,and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man; and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. 

Rom 1:24  Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonour their bodies among themselves,

Rom 1:25  who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

Rom 1:26  For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.  

Rom 1:27  Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. 

Rom 1:28  And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over

Rom 1:29  to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters,

Rom 1:30  haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient

Rom 1:31  to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful;

Rom 1:32  who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them."

 

Like a collective death wish, the entire world has been covered by the stench of homosexuality.  Those who ought to cry aloud about it are just as likely to indulge in it themselves. 

It is unbelievable that such a small number of people would wield such a disproportionate influence with world governing institutions.  Two and three decades ago they used to claim that upwards of ten percent of the population had homosexual orientation.  But every study done since then has shown that their number is no more than one to two percent.  It only shows what a powerful spirit is behind this abominable practice.

The Bible says that religious leaders ought to be the repositories of scriptural knowledge and upholders of the Law of God, but instead they have done their best to steer people away from that Law under the pretence that churches must keep up with the times.  

 

Mal 2:7  "For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, And people should seek the law from his mouth; For he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts. 

Mal 2:8  But you have departed from the way; You have caused many to stumble at the law.

Mal 2:9  You have corrupted the covenant of Levi,” Says the LORD of hosts.  "Therefore I also have made you contemptible and base before all the people, because you have not kept My ways but have shown partiality in the law."

 

Jer 5:24  “They do not say in their heart, "Let us now fear the LORD our God, Who gives rain, both the former and the latter, in its season. He reserves for us the appointed weeks of the harvest."

Jer 5:25  Your iniquities have turned these things away, And your sins have withheld good from you. 

Jer 5:30  "An astonishing and horrible thing Has been committed in the land: 

Jer 5:31   The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule by their own power; And My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end?”  

 

1 Cor 2:6  “However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.

1 Cor 2:7  But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory,

1 Cor 2:8  which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

1 Cor 2:9  But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him."

 

People have refused to hear our message because we did not come with polished publications and great pomp and ceremony.  They have been led to believe that God’s messages come form well dressed, wealthy and fashionable people. But what do the Scriptures say?  

 

Mark 1:6  “Now John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.”

 

Mat 11:7  “As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?” But what did you go out to see?

Mat 11:8  A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. "But what did you go out to see?

Mat 11:9  A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.

Mat 11:10  "For this is he of whom it is written: 'Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.' 

Mat 11:11  "Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

 

Those who were to come in the spirit of Elijah before the return of Jesus Christ, whose role was to witness the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all nations before the end comes, were also ordinary people dressed in ‘sackcloth’ (Rev.11).  Any wonder that the world does not believe them and kills them.  But would it do so if they were world renown people, coming with great pomp and ceremony?  Can you see now how the world is deceived to the very core, and why it is blind to its true condition?   

 

James 2:5  “Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? 

James 2:6  But you have dishonoured the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you

James 2:7  and drag you into the courts?  Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which

James 2:8  you are called? If you really fulfil the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbour as yourself," you do well; but if you show partiality,

James 2:9  you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever

James 2:10  shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.

James 2:11  For He who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

James 2:12  So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.”

 

What does the “law of liberty” tell us?  To keep the Law of God, and abhor sin. Tell that to the United Sates Supreme Court, which in June 2003 equated freedom with homosexuality.  Little do they realise that in so doing they signed the death warrant for their own nation. 

God does not change (Mal.3:6). What was abominable in His sight in ancient times is abominable to Him in modern times, and always shall be.  That is why those who have not learned the lesson of history, particularly that of Sodom and Gomorra, will repeat it at their own peril.  Since the whole world has gone after this, and a myriad of other sins, the whole world will pay for it; hence the Great Tribulation. 

The change that is about to hit this world is so great, so radically different from anything that happened in the past, that most people find it hard to comprehend the size and scope of it. 

 

Mat 24:21  "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 

Mat 24:22  And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.”

 

For the elect’s sake God will intervene and cut those days short, lest no flesh be left alive.  Unless you are among the elect of God, you cannot make it into the Kingdom of God.  You may survive the Great Tribulation and live a little longer into the Millennial Kingdom, but that is hardly a consolation for not being among the elect who will not only be spared the pains of the Great Tribulation, but receive eternal life as well.   

 

Rev 3:10  "Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.”

Rev 20:6  “Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.”

 

 

 

 

 

                       THE POWER OF PRAYER

 

Not long ago the leader of the Crystal Cathedral in America enlightened his immaculate and attentive audience how he conducts his prayer before the Almighty. So what does he tell God when he gets on his knees?  Nothing!  And what does God answer him?  Nothing! 

He seems to have done pretty well with his prayer formula, but do you think a poor man would get very far if he prayed that way? We do not know what Bible he is using for inspiration, but we do know that our Bible says something very different about prayer. 

 

Mat 6:5  "And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  "But you, when you pray,

Mat 6:6  go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

Mat 6:7  "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.”  

Mat 6:8  Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.”

 

Our Father knows what we need before we ask Him, but He still wants us to talk to Him as we would to our human parents. The wealthy of this world can pray whichever way they want; their prayer carries little weight with God anyway.   

 

Mat 19:23  “Then Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  

Mat 19:24 "And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

 

James 5:1  “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you!

James 5:2  Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.

James 5:3  Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days.

James 5:4  Indeed the wages of the labourers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.

James 5:5  You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter. 

James 5:6  You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.

James 5:7  Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.”

        James 5:8  You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”

 

Unless people do what Jesus Christ and His Apostles have said, they can pray standing on their head, it wouldn’t make a difference.   The man who prays in silence before God came to Australia recently in an evangelistic campaign, charging $25 for anyone who wanted to hear his precious pearls.  Now $25 is a lot of money for a poor person, but do you think he was concerned with the poor?  One does not charge $25 if he wants to reach the poor.  But if he wants to ‘enlighten’ the wealthy, he can charge anything he wants; they will make good company in their “heaven”.      

Now do you know why Jesus Christ said that it is hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven? 

 

Mat 19:16  “Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" 

Mat 19:17  So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.

Mat 19:18  But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”   He said to Him, "Which ones?" Jesus said, " 'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,'

Mat 19:19  'Honour your father and your mother,' and, 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself.'"   The young man said to Him,

Mat 19:20  "All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?"

Mat 19:21  Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."  But when the young man

Mat 19:22 heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”

Mat 19:23  Then Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Mat 19:24  And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

 

The heart of the young man could not let him follow Christ because he had great possessions.  Riches are a deadly snare as far as salvation is concerned.  Men have a hard time parting with their possessions, and that is why it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle that for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God.  In other words it is virtually impossible to save rich people.  And when Jesus Christ says something, you better believe that it is true.

Now isn’t it extraordinary that this world honours the very people who have the least chance of being saved? They look at those who are well dressed, influential and wealthy, who come with great pomp and ceremony, when these are the least likely people to have a good relationship with God and receive His messages.  Why do you think God gave His great end time work to two poor people, ‘clothed in sackcloth’ (Rev. 11:3), instead of to wealthy people? 

Poor people know their condition and pray to God in the right manner, with the right heart and the right attitude.  God is able to communicate with them, because they communicate with Him.  But He cannot pass on His messages to people that remain deaf-mute before Him.  

Prayer is an interactive process with our heavenly Father.  It should contain a eulogy for His wondrous creation; gratitude for His compassion, grace, and blessings; request for forgiveness of our sins; and a petition to help us overcome the tests, trials and tribulations that often come our way.     

Our requests to Him must be moderated by the knowledge that if we ask anything amiss He does not respond to our prayer.  Our prayers must be in accordance with His will, and that is why it is important to know what He expects of us in the first place.  This is what James said about prayer:

 

James 5:13  “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful?

James 5:14  Let him sing psalms.  Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

James 5:15  And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. 

James 5:16  And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.  Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 

James 5:17  Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.

James 5:18  And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

James 5:19  Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth,

James 5:20  and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.”

 

Did you notice?  “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”   Prayer and faith go hand in hand.  For a prayer to be effective, it must be done in complete faith.  But faith does not come overnight.   “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom 10:17).  But if you cannot find anyone who can inspire you to have faith, you can increase your own faith by combining prayer, meditation, and study of the Word of God.     

 

2 Tim 2:15  “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

 

        James had a few golden sayings about prayer too.

 

James 1:2  “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,

James 1:3  knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

James 1:4  But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

James 1:5  If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given him. 

James 1:6  But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

James 1:7  For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 

James 1:8  he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

James 1:9  Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation,

James 1:10  but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away.

James 1:11  For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.

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

 

One cannot talk about prayer without mentioning the Master of it – Jesus Christ.  This is what He told His disciples. 

 

Mat 6:5  "And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  "But you, when you pray,

Mat 6:6  go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

Mat 6:7  "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

Mat 6:8  "Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

Mat 6:9  "In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.

Mat 6:10  Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.

Mat 6:11  Give us this day our daily bread.

Mat 6:12  And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.

Mat 6:13  And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen

Mat 6:14  "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

Mat 6:15  "But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

 

Millions of people recite this formula by heart without stoping for a minute to consider what it really means.   Each verset contains a profound meaning, so speak it slowly, stop and think about every word of it.  Above all, remember the verset that  says, ‘forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors’, and take note how Jesus Christ elaborated on it.  More often than not, people’s prayers are ineffective because their heart is not right before God.  As Apostle Paul said:

 

2 Cor 13:5  “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?; unless indeed you are disqualified.”

 

Indeed, Jesus Christ lives His life in his genuine followers, and answers their prayer.  This is what He told His disciples just before He rose to heaven. 

 

John 14:23  “Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 

John 14:24  "He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.

John 14:25  "These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.

John 14:26  "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name,

John 14:27 He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.   "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

John 14:28  "You have heard Me say to you, 'I am going away and coming back to you.' If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, 'I am going to the Father,

John 14:29 ' for My Father is greater than I.  "And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe.”

 

John 16:24  "Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

John 16:25  "These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language,

John 16:26  but I will tell you plainly about the Father.  "In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you;

John 16:27  "for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God. 

John 16:28  "I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father."

 

Then Jesus Christ lifted up His eyes to heaven and gave His disciples a powerful example of prayer and communication with His, and our, heavenly Father. 

 

John 17:1  Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You,

John 17:2  "as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.  "And this is eternal life, that they may know You,

John 17:3  the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

John 17:4  "I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given

John 17:5  Me to do. "And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”  

John 17:6  "I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.

John 17:7  "Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You.

John 17:8  "For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You;

John 17:9  and they have believed that You sent Me."I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.

John 17:10  "And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them.

John 17:11  "Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one

John 17:12  as We are.  "While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition,

John 17:13  that the Scripture might be fulfilled. "But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. 

John 17:14  "I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are

John 17:15  not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  "I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.

John 17:16  "They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

John 17:17  "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.

John 17:18  "As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.

John 17:19  "And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

John 17:20  "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through

John 17:21  "that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in their word;Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

John 17:22  "And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:

John 17:23  "I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

John 17:24  "Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

John 17:25  "O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You;

John 17:26  and these have known that You sent Me.  "And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."

 

Can anyone add anything to that?  Not us!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Marriage and Divorce According to the Scriptures

 

It is an extraordinary paradox that many fundamentalist churches that call themselves Churches of God, openly advocate what the Apostles of Jesus Christ have called ‘doctrines of demons’. 

 

1 Tim 4:1  Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and

1 Tim 4:2  doctrines of demons,  speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,

1 Tim 4:3  forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.

1 Tim 4:4  For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving;

1 Tim 4:5  for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

1 Tim 4:6  If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed.

1 Tim 4:7  But reject profane and old wives' fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness.

1 Tim 4:8  For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.

 

As you can see, Apostle Paul placed this apostasy firmly in the end time.  So if you want to know whether we are indeed in the end time, go and find out whether anyone practices those doctrines of demons.  But if you want to take our word for it, we can tell you that just about every fundamentalist church, and many traditional ones, believe and practice these doctrines. There is virtually no church that does not have unscriptural dietary restrictions on its members at various times during the year.  Remember, if it is not in the Bible, or approved by God, it is not necessary, or downright wrong and sinful.  The strange thing is that although many churches believe that we live in the end time, none would admit that they practice ‘doctrines of demons’ even though they impose dietary and marriage restrictions on their followers. 

For decades, the champion church of these ‘doctrines of demons’ has been the Worldwide Church of God.  That church, which had great proselytising campaigns and influence last century, advocated even more stringent dietary and marital restrictions than the Jews.  They applied biblical injunctions, which they did not understand, without any consideration for the harm and pain it caused to those who were affected.  Have a look at the following examples and see what we mean.   

 

Mat 19:3  “The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”  And He answered and said to them,

Mat 19:4  "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning

Mat 19:5  'made them male and female,’ and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?”

Mat 19:6  "So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."

 

The new ‘Pharisees’ used this passage to split families and send people back to their former mates.  When that was not possible, they left them in the lurch, separated and heartbroken.  No one was allowed to remarry as long as the former partner was still alive, regardless of whether he or she was available and a member of the church.   It was a classical example of wisdom of the world posing as the wisdom of God.  Jesus Christ had indeed said that, “what God has joined together, let not man separate", but He also pointed out that there are times when that cannot be avoided, and separation MUST occur. 

 

Mat 19:7  “They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?"

Mat 19:8  He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.  

Mat 19:9  "And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."

 

Sexual immorality demands divorce.  But separating people who are remarried and sending them back to former partners is committing another abominable act in the sight of God.

 

Deu 24:1  "When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favour in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house,

Deu 24:2  "when she has departed from his house, and goes and becomes another man's wife,

Deu 24:3  "if the latter husband detests her and writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her as his wife,

Deu 24:4  "then her former husband who divorced her must not take her back to be his wife after she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the LORD, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

 

So strongly does God feel about this Law that He repeated it in Jeremiah.

 

Jer 3:1  "They say, 'If a man divorces his wife, And she goes from him And becomes another man's, May he return to her again?' Would not that land be greatly polluted? But you have played the harlot with many lovers; Yet return to Me," says the LORD.”

 

It is abominable before the Lord, and pollutes the land, to separate people and send them back to former partners.  And if something is abominable before the Lord you better not tamper with it, because the penalty for it is eternal damnation.

And yet, many churches are still unashamedly practicing these ‘doctrines of demons’.

They do not understand that the starting point for the people of God is the moment of their conversion.  Whoever you are married to at the moment of your repentance, conversion and baptism, is your partner for life.  But as Apostle Paul said, if one of the partners departs and marries another, the other partner is not bound for life to him or her.  The remaining partner is free to marry, but only a believing member. 

The problem mainstream churches, such as the Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, and others, are having is that they do not have a break, a converting point, in the life of their members.  Their members are made not by adult conversion, but by birth.  This has far reaching implications.  Consider the plight of the priests who are accused of sexual misconduct prior to their ordination.  They could never say: I was guilty of youthful indiscretions like all human beings.  But when I matured and saw the error of my ways, I repented of it and converted to God’s way of life.  God forgave me, and you ought to forgive me too.  Of course this does not apply to criminal behaviour for which the common law must take its course.   But as it is, they have two options: deny even the smallest infraction and hope for the best, or acknowledge it and have their reputation and career ruined.  Not surprisingly, virtually all of them choose the first option.    

The head of the Catholic Church in Australia was accused last year of having fondled a boy forty-one years earlier when they were both young and playing.  On the face of it, it appeared to be rather a trifling accusation, with little consequence, except perhaps as a pointer towards possible homosexual orientation. But because it was aired in public, the Primate had to either admit it or deny it.  As one might have expected it, he denied it.  The judging magistrate then had to decide whom to believe: the accuser or the defender.  Since birds of a feather stick together, he chose to ‘believe’ the defender.  Thus the Primate was saved and reinstated to his position, and the church was saved from another payout.

The problem with this Primate and his choice is that even if God had forgiven him for his original error, which he could claim that he made while young, green, and irresponsible, God would never forgiven him if he lied about it now, because in so doing he portrayed an innocent man as liar, and that is unforgivable.  That is what happens when churches misapply good Christian doctrines.  Taking responsibility for one’s sins is paramount in Christianity.  But equally paramount is the fact that errors once repented of before God, are forgiven and forgotten.  But that requires a repenting and converting point in one’s adult life, a fact traditional churches deny their members. 

Infants and children can be Christened and blessed by a priest or a minister of religion, just as Jesus Christ blessed the children that were brought to Him.  That act however is designed to protect them from evil influences, not to erase their sins and convert them to the true faith of Jesus Christ.  Children are born without sin, but they are still made of flesh and blood, and bound to fall under temptation when they grow up and subjected to the impulses and temptations of human nature.  Only one Man in the history of the world had never sinned – Jesus Christ – and that happened because He had the Holy Spirit from conception.  Without the Holy Spirit no one can withstand the wiles of the Devil.  That is why an adult conversion, repentance of sins, and baptism through complete immersion, without which no one can receive the Holy Spirit, are so important.  Can you see now why priests and ministers of traditional churches, particularly of the Catholic Church, are such easy pray to the Devil’s influence?  Without the Holy Spirit they have little chance of withstanding his evil devices.         

In regard to the question of why God allows little children to die young, over which so many people continue to fret and stumble, this is what the Bible says.

 

1 Ki 14:5  “Now the LORD had said to Ahijah, "Here is the wife of Jeroboam, coming to ask you something about her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus you shall say to her; for it will be, when she comes in, that she will pretend to be another woman."

1 Ki 14:6  And so it was, when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps as she came through the door, he said, "Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another person? For I have been sent to you with bad news.

1 Ki 14:7  "Go, tell Jeroboam, 'Thus says the LORD God of Israel: "Because I exalted you from among the people, and made you ruler over My people Israel,

1 Ki 14:8  "and tore the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it to you; and yet you have not been as My servant David, who kept My commandments and who followed Me with all his heart, to do only what was right in My eyes;

1 Ki 14:9  "but you have done more evil than all who were before you, for you have gone and made for yourself other gods and molded images to provoke Me to anger, and have cast Me behind your back;

1 Ki 14:10  "therefore behold! I will bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam every male in Israel, bond and free; I will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as one takes away refuse until it is all gone.

1 Ki 14:11  "The dogs shall eat whoever belongs to Jeroboam and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field; for the LORD has spoken!"'

1 Ki 14:12  "Arise therefore, go to your own house. When your feet enter the city, the child shall die.

1 Ki 14:13  "And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he is the only one of Jeroboam who shall come to the grave, because in him there is found something good toward the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.”

 

Combine that with the following Scripture, and you can see that when children die in their infancy, rather than mourn, cry, be angry and ask, why did God let little Johnny die, people should rather rejoice just as God does. 

 

Psa 116:15  Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His saints.”

 

Little Johnny  will most certainly be in the Kingdom of God, whereas those left behind will have a mammoth task to make it to that place, especially if they are members of the mainstream churches that do not offer their members the chance of  repentance, conversion, baptism, and washing of sins by the Holy Spirit.  Once people grow up and commit their first sin, they lose their innocence and can no longer make it into the Kingdom of God unless they undergo the ritual of renewal through repentance, conversion, baptism, and laying on of hands of the elders for the receiving of the Holy Spirit.  

What these churches do to their members, particularly their priests and ministers, by their lack of proper doctrines, is forcing them to lie about their past behaviour in order to save their skins in this world. 

It is the same story with their doctrines about marriage.  It is a well known fact that the Catholic Church does not allow divorce even when both partners have committed adultery.  By forcing people to stay together against their wish, even after adultery, the church commits a great abomination before the Lord.   Do you happen to know whom the Bible refers to as the ‘abomination of desolation’?  You might want to consult The Christian Herald No 3.  

The following lengthy passage shows us in what Spirit we must look at family, marriage and divorce.     

 

1 Cor 7:1  “Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. 

1 Cor 7:2  Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. 

1 Cor 7:3  Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. 

1 Cor 7:4  The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.

1 Cor 7:5  Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you

1 Cor 7:6  because of your lack of self- control.  But I say this as a concession, not as a commandment.

1 Cor 7:7  For I wish that all men were even as I myself. But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that. 

1 Cor 7:8  But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am;

1 Cor 7:9  but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn

1 Cor 7:10  with passion.  Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord:

1 Cor 7:11  A wife is not to depart from her husband.  But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife. 

1 Cor 7:12  But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her.

1 Cor 7:13  And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him.

1 Cor 7:14  For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.

1 Cor 7:15  But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases.

1 Cor 7:16  But God has called us to peace.  For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?

1 Cor 7:17  But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him walk. And so I ordain in all the churches. 

1 Cor 7:18  Was anyone called while circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised.

1 Cor 7:19  Was anyone called while uncircumcised? Let him not be circumcised.  Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters. 

1 Cor 7:20  Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called.

1 Cor 7:21  Were you called while a slave? Do not be concerned about it; but if you can be made free, rather use it.

1 Cor 7:22  For he who is called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord's freedman. Likewise he who is called while free is Christ's slave. 

1 Cor 7:23  You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.

1 Cor 7:24  Brethren, let each one remain with God in that state in which he was called.

1 Cor 7:25  Now concerning virgins: I have no commandment from the Lord; yet I give judgment as one whom the Lord in His mercy has made trustworthy.

1 Cor 7:26  I suppose therefore that this is good because of the present distress; that it is good for a man to remain as he is:  Are you bound to a wife?

1 Cor 7:27  Do not seek to be loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? Do not seek a wife.

1 Cor 7:28  But even if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Nevertheless such will have trouble in the flesh, but I would spare you.   But this I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on,

1 Cor 7:29  even those who have wives should be as though they had none,  those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice,

1 Cor 7:30  those who buy as though they did not possess, and those who use

1 Cor 7:31  this world as not misusing it. For the form of this world is passing away.

1 Cor 7:32  But I want you to be without care. He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord; how he may please the Lord.  

1 Cor 7:33  But he who is married cares about the things of the world; how he may please his wife.

1 Cor 7:34  There is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world; how she may please her husband.

1 Cor 7:35  And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction. 

1 Cor 7:36  But if any man thinks he is behaving improperly toward his virgin, if she is past the flower of youth, and thus it must be, let him do what he wishes. He does not sin; let them marry.

1 Cor 7:37  Nevertheless he who stands steadfast in his heart, having no necessity, but has power over his own will, and has so determined in his heart that he will keep his virgin, does well.  So then he who

1 Cor 7:38  gives her in marriage does well, but he who does not give her in marriage does better.

1 Cor 7:39  A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.

1 Cor 7:40  But she is happier if she remains as she is, according to my judgment; and I think I also have the Spirit of God.”

 

As you can see, this rule applies not only to marriage, but to whatever condition one is found in at the moment of his or her call and conversion.  Now there is one statement made by Jesus Christ that has caused much anguish to theologians and philosophers.  It is a statement that is connected with marriage and divorce, although it does not appear to be so at first sight.

 

Mat 20:16  "So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen."

 

This statement was repeated for emphasis, lest people think that it might have been made by oversight. 

 

Mat 22:14  "For many are called, but few are chosen."

  

Now why would theologians and philosophers stumble over these words?  Because they go contrary to the commonly believed notion that all human beings are equal before God.   They are equal as far as their judgment is concerned, everyone answering for his deeds, but not equal as fas as their gifts and abilities are concerned.   What these statements are telling us is that there are three kinds of people in the world.  First there is the great mass of people from whom God calls people to repentance.   Then there are the called out ones with whom God works in order to bring them to perfection.  And finally, there are the chosen ones, the people who have overcome their trials and are given a place in the Kingdom of God.  

Can you see now why all leftist utopias have failed?  They assume that all people are equal, and given half a chance they could be programmed to work for the common good and live selflessly in harmony forever more.  But humans are not equal.  No matter how much you program them, they would never have the same goals in life.  Some are simply not capable of altruistic feelings.  They are self-centred by nature, and totally unfeeling towards others.  Unfortunately, because they have few scruples in stepping on the toes of others to push their agenda, they are the more likely ones to raise up to the top.  That is why this society appears to be up side down sometimes. But before you despair, remember this:

 

Rev 13:10  “He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.”   

 

Mal 3:14  You have said, 'It is useless to serve God; What profit is it that we have kept His ordinance, And that we have walked as mourners Before the LORD of hosts?

Mal 3:15  So now we call the proud blessed, For those who do wickedness are raised up; They even tempt God and go free.'"

Mal 3:16  Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, And the LORD listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him For those who fear the LORD And who meditate on His name.

Mal 3:17  "They shall be Mine," says the LORD of hosts, "On the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them As a man spares his own son who serves him.”

Mal 3:18  Then you shall again discern Between the righteous and the wicked, Between one who serves God And one who does not serve Him.

Mal 4:1  "For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up," Says the LORD of hosts, "That will leave them neither root nor branch.

Mal 4:2  But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings;

Mal 4:3 And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves.  You shall trample the wicked, For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet On the day that I do this," Says the LORD of hosts.

 

Now coming back to the topic of marriage, people who get married in this world, whose marriage breaks up before they convert to God’s way of life, belong to the first category.  They belong to the great mass of people for whom the Law of God has little relevance, and for whom God responds in kind with little consideration.  

Those who respond to the call of God, repent and begin the road of spiritual growth, become part of the second group.  That is the moment that counts with God as far as their marital condition is concerned.   As Apostle Paul said:  “Let each one remain with God in that state in which he was called. Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? Do not seek a wife. But even if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Nevertheless such will have trouble in the flesh, but I would spare you.”

It is a grievous sin to split families that have converted to God’s way of life and send them back to former unconverted spouses.   Or if their former partner is no longer available to force them to remain celibate until that spouse dies.

The Worldwide Church of God has been enforcing this policy mercilessly for decades, and even now some of its siblings, and quite a large number of other churches, are still doing it.   They will have much to answer before God and before the people whom they have caused so much grief and misery.  

 

 

 

 

 

 IN  THE  MULTITUDE  OF  COUNSELLORS

         THERE  ISN’T  ALWAYS  SAFETY

 

When we pointed out that virtually the whole of Christianity has fallen away from the truth of God, an American professor of theology quoted the following Scripture as assurance that he was safe where he was. 

 

        Proverbs 11:14. “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.”

 

Well, we do not know what they discuss in their councils, but obviously not the work of Elijah whom the Bible says must come before the return of Jesus Christ and restore all things all by himself.  Where are the church councils at that time, and why don’t they help Elijah carry out his duty?  More importantly, why would there be a need to restore anything of they preached the right Gospel in the churches?  

 

Mat 17:10  “And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"

Mat 17:11  “Jesus answered and said to them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things.”

 

And what about the other major biblical figures of the end time – the two witnesses of God spoken of in the book of Revelation.   Why are they wretchedly clothed in ‘sackcloth’, why are they hated by everyone who dwells on the earth, and why are they killed in the end?  Where are the church councils during those days? 

 

        Rev 11:3  "And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand

two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth."

 

Rev 11:7  When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them.  

Rev 11:8  And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called

Rev 11:9  Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.  Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves.

Rev 11:10  And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.”

 

How is it that those councils could not see the connection between this prophecy and the following one, and the end time mission spoken of by Jesus Christ when the words ‘witnesses’ and ‘witness’ make a clear link between them? 

 

Mat 24:14  "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

 

Not only are the church councils not doing their job and coming to the help of Elijah and the two witnesses, but they hate the very people they ought to love.  Now consider Jesus’ message to the Church of Laodicea.  

 

Rev 3:14  "And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, 'These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:

Rev 3:15  "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or

Rev 3:16  hot.  "So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.

Rev 3:17  "Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'; and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked;

Rev 3:18  "I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.

Rev 3:19  "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.

Rev 3:20  "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine

Rev 3:21  with him, and he with Me.  "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

Rev 3:22  "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."' "

 

At a time when Jesus Christ stands at the door ready to come in, when poor people are doing the work of God, taking His message to the world all on their own, the Laodicea Church of God, the very last church that should be busy with the work of God and be ready to receive its Saviour, is basking in the belief that its members are “rich, wealthy, and have need of nothing”. 

Safety in a multitude of counsellors?  Yes, but not in spiritual matters, because salvation is a personal not a collective quest.   That is why those who think that they are saved because they belong to large congregations, or are safe because a multitude of counsellors is leading them and telling them so, might have some big surprises coming their way.    

In the whole history of the world, there isn’t a single example in which God passed His messages to the world through a multitude of counsellors.   With the exception of the Apostles in the earlier stages of their work, always lonely people did the work of God, and always they were persecuted.  If anything, when religious councils were involved they came together for evil not for good.  Need we go any further than the Sanhedrin council that condemned Jesus Christ to death?  Or the council of young people around king Rehoboam, whose advise led to the division of Israel?  If Solomon had lived a little later, or knew what his son would do, he might have written Proverbs 11:14 a little differently.    

The most important prophecies about the Church of God for the end time is that it would fall asleep or fall away and not be prepared for the return of Jesus Christ.   

 

Mat 25:1  "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

Mat 25:2  "Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

Mat 25:3  "Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them,

Mat 25:4  "but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

Mat 25:5  "But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

Mat 25:6  "And at midnight a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!'

Mat 25:7  "Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.  "And the foolish

Mat 25:8  said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.'

Mat 25:9  "But the wise answered, saying, 'No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.'

Mat 25:10  "And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.

Mat 25:11  "Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!'

Mat 25:12  "But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.'

Mat 25:13  "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”

 

2 Th 2:1  “Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering

2 Th 2:2  together to Him, we ask you,  not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 

2 Th 2:3  Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling

2 Th 2:4  away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

2 Th 2:5  Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?”

 

The question is, which is the Church of God that has fallen asleep or fallen away right now? Is it the Catholic, the Orthodox, the Protestant, or any of the fundamentalist or charismatic denominations?

If any of them is a genuine Church of God, it must explain how these prophecies apply to it.  If all of them are Churches of God, all of them collectively must allow for the possibility that they may have fallen asleep or fallen away.

At one time, I was invited to attend an evangelical revivalist meeting.  At the end of the ‘show’, in lack of a better word, I asked the main preacher how he explained the prophecies about Elijah and the two witnesses.  He said that when that time comes, he will worry about it then.  It was inconceivable for him that we might be living in those times, or that these prophecies might be fulfilled right now.

The problem with people who have fallen asleep or fallen away is that they do not know their condition.  They fail to understand that when a wicked spirit takes over their minds, their thought processes change without them being aware of it, and they see things with entirely different eyes.  Sin no longer appears to be such an evil thing. 

 

Prov 30:20  “This is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth,

And says, "I have done no wickedness."

 

But what did Jesus Christ say? 

 

Mat 12:35  "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. 

Mat 12:36  "But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give

Mat 12:37  account of it in the day of judgment.  "For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

 

Now why is it that in spite of all the signs of our time people refuse to contemplate that the world has fallen asleep or fallen away so far from God that it has brought itself to the very brink of catastrophe?  Is it because we have given this warning so may times that people think we have cried wolf once too many?  Would it have been better if God had spoken just once and then zap – crashed everyone who did not take that warning seriously and repented of their sins?    

When we embarked on this road some fourteen years ago we knew that our work would be of limited duration, but did not know how long it would be before the world plunged itself into the Great Tribulation, except that it would not be too long. 

Now how long is too long in historic or in God’s, terms?  Considering that recorded history is telling us that humanity has stood on this planet for a mere six thousand years, what would be the appropriate time to warn people about the end of this age?   I suppose it depends on what purpose that would serve.  If it just to just let people know that teir end is near and they must put their house in order, a few days or a few weeks might be enough.  But if it is to give them enough time to repent, change their ways and qualify for the Kingdom of God, the longer the better.  The problem is, human nature being as it is, if the warning is too short, they either panic or refuse to believe that such an event could be possible in their life time.  If it is too long, they forget about it and put it out of their minds altogether.  Either way, one cannot win with human beings. 

The point is, God has not created humanity and placed it on this planet in order to catch it in its sins and punish it for it.  He has given it ample time to reform itself and be saved, even though this has often worked to the detriment of His messengers.  Remember what happened to the prophet Jeremiah?

 

Jer 20:7  “O LORD, You induced me, and I was persuaded; You are stronger than I, and have prevailed. I am in derision daily;

Jer 20:8  Everyone mocks me.  For when I spoke, I cried out; I shouted, "Violence and plunder!" Because the word of the LORD

Jer 20:9  was made to me A reproach and a derision daily.  Then I said, "I will not make mention of Him, Nor speak anymore in His name." But His word was in my heart like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, And I could not.

Jer 20:10  For I heard many mocking: "Fear on every side!" "Report," they say, "and we will report it!" All my acquaintances watched for my stumbling, saying, "Perhaps he can be induced; Then we will prevail against him, And we will take our revenge on him."  

 

Unless people see results right away, they misinterpret the message.  They were angry with Jeremiah when his prophecies did not occur right away.  They accused him of being a false prophet and threw him in a muddy dungeon where he nearly died.  But before long, his prophecies did come true.  They were taken into captivity where they all ended up their days.  

When we began this work, we had no councillors to rely upon, and spent virtually every spare moment of our life in prayer, meditation, worship, and study of the Word of God.  We communicated with God, and He communicated with us. 

There was nothing special about us, except that we believed God and His Word, as did Jesus Christ and His Apostles.  You too can do that and ensure your salvation, but you cannot afford to waste any time for the Day of the Lord is truly at hand.

 

 

 

 

               Exposing Falsehood Is NOT Judging People

 

When you begin a work of the Gospel like this one, you know that you will receive both favourable and negative comments.  We have been happy to receive both kinds, and are grateful to all people who have taken time to comment on our writings, knowing that while the first found spiritual comfort in them, the second made us think deeper on the topics they took issue with.  We know that as long as we are in this ‘tent’ we are bound to make mistakes.  Anyone who shuts his ears to advise or criticism, has already put one foot in the grave.  As the Scriptures say:

 

Prov 26:12  “Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.”

Eccl 4:13  “Better a poor and wise youth Than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more.”

 

We have been dealing with important matters that affected people’s lives, and since we are not infallible we have tried hard to make sure we understood the Scriptures properly before we expanded on them to others. But just as the Apostles discovered in their time, it is not possible to please everyone no matter how hard you tried.  Some people are hating the Scriptures, others are twisting them, others have put our writings to their use, but like the Apostles, we rejoice that the Gospel is being preached, regardless of by whom or for what purpose.    

 

2 Pet 3:14  “Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by

2 Pet 3:15  Him in peace, without spot and blameless; and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things,

2 Pet 3:16  in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.

2 Pet 3:17  You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked;

2 Pet 3:18  but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.”

 

Phil 1:15  “Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from

Phil 1:16  good will:  The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains;

Phil 1:17  but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defence of the gospel.

Phil 1:18  What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretence or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.”

 

As it happens, those who have shown displeasure at our writings have not impressed us with their knowledge of the Scriptures, or with their ability to follow through and substantiate their arguments.  Almost without exception, when people felt uncomfortable with our writings, they threw at us the age old accusation that we were judging them contrary to teachings of Jesus Christ, even though we did not even know who they were.

 

Mat 7:2  "For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be

Mat 7:3  measured back to you.  "And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?

Mat 7:4  "Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look,

Mat 7:5  a plank is in your own eye?  "Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.”

 

Well, if they think that this is the case, we would be only too happy to have someone pull the plank from our eyes so that we can remove the speck from theirs, but unfortunately we found that when it comes to the real message of the Scriptures they appear to be completely blind.  They fail to understand that the following Scriptures apply to the Christian ‘Pharisees’ of today too, not only to the Jewish Pharisees of old. 

 

Mat 15:12  “Then His disciples came and said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?"  But He answered and said,

Mat 15:13  "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. "Let them alone.

Mat 15:14  They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch."

 

It is not often that we have named people in our writings.  We have done so only after we became convinced that it would be for the common good, in order to protect others from their teachings, but also in the hope that they might repent of their errors and turn to God, our guiding principle always coming from the Scriptures. 

 

James 5:19  “Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns

James 5:20  him back,  let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.”

 

Even the Apostles corrected each other publicly when some did not behave properly, and did not mind.   And who was the one who made one of the biggest mistakes?  None other than the very chief of the Apostles.

 

Gal 2:11  “Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be

Gal 2:12  blamed;  for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision.

Gal 2:13  And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. 

Gal 2:14  But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, "If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews?””

 

And what did Peter do when he was confronted in front of the whole congregation?  Did he remind Paul who was chief among them and knew better?  Or that his error was like having a speck in his eyes, when Paul himself was having a plank in his own?  No, Peter loved him, and praised him for his work.  Apostle Paul was far from perfect, having persecuted the Church of God in the past, so Peter could have come back with some pretty grievous accusations against him if he wanted to, but he did not do so.  One, because you do not bring back the errors for which people have repented, and two, because Peter knew that he was at fault and needed to repent of it.

Making errors in the process of salvation is not a major problem as long as the correction, from whatever source it comes, is received in a spirit of meekness and repentance.  God specifically contrasted His condition with that of human beings, by pointing out the need for humans to always repent.

 

Num 23:19  "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?”

 

Apostle Peter mentioned the fact that some people twist the Scriptures to their own destruction.  Now if someone is in that position shouldn’t he be told about it while he can still repent of it?  The Scriptures make it clear that if we see someone committing sin, especially if he appears to be unaware of it, and we do not tell him about it, we become guilty of his sin. 

 

Ezek 3:17  "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me: 

Ezek 3:18  "When I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. 

Ezek 3:19  "Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.

Ezek 3:20  "Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you did not give him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. 

Ezek 3:21  "Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; also you will have delivered your soul."

 

Ezek 2:1  “And He said to me, "Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak to you."

Ezek 2:2  Then the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me.

Ezek 2:3  And He said to me: "Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day.

Ezek 2:4  "For they are impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD.' 

Ezek 2:5  "As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse; for they are a rebellious house; yet they will know that a prophet has been among them.

Ezek 2:6  "And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, though they are a rebellious house.

Ezek 2:7  "You shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse,

Ezek 2:8  for they are rebellious.  "But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you." 

Ezek 2:9  Now when I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me; and behold,

Ezek 2:10  a scroll of a book was in it.  Then He spread it before me; and there was writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were lamentations and mourning and woe.

Ezek 3:1  Moreover He said to me, "Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go,

Ezek 3:2  speak to the house of Israel.  "So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll.

Ezek 3:3  And He said to me, "Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you." So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness.

Ezek 3:4  Then He said to me: "Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them.

Ezek 3:5  "For you are not sent to a people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, but to the house

Ezek 3:6  "not to many people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, whose words you cannot understand. of Israel,   Surely, had I sent you to them, they would have listened to you.   "But the house of Israel will not listen to you,

Ezek 3:7   because they will not listen to Me; for all the house of Israel are impudent and hard-hearted.

Ezek 3:8  "Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong against

Ezek 3:9  their foreheads.  "Like adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; do not be afraid of them, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house."

 

Some people say that those who do not convert to true Christianity now, will be given a second chance after resurrection, when supposedly they are brought back up to life to start all over again, until they repent and are given a place in the eternal Kingdom of God too.  Nothing could further from the truth.  This is your one and only chance to work out your salvation. If you do not prepare for the Kingdom of God now, if you mess your life now, you will never have another chance.    

 

Heb 9:27  “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment”

2 Cor 5:10  “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”

 

We appear before the judgment seat of Christ after one life, not after two or more.  That is why the doctrine of reincarnation is such a dangerous one.  For it implies that even if people mess up their life now, they can always come back to repair the damage they have done to themselves in this life.  Once again, nothing could be further from the truth.  God does not have to, nor is He going to, wait until people make up their mind whether they want to be saved or not.

He says: I have given you the chance to save yourselves now, in this life, so don’t waste it.  Moreover, people who do not care about salvation now, more often than not are the very ones that cause problems for those that do.  That is another reason for not giving them another chance, and that is why they will be resurrected for punishment not for salvation.         

People in the West must understand that the road to salvation is more than just going to church on weekends and hoping for the best.  Salvation is an active process that requires bringing under control the pulls of human nature, and achieving peace of mind and union with God and with Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.  

 

1 Cor 9:27  “But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” 

 

Indeed, all those who do not bring their bodies under subjection now, will be disqualified.

 

John 17:20  "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;

John 17:21   that they all may be one as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

John 17:22  "And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are

John 17:23  one:  "I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.”

 

You cannot achieve union with the Father and with Jesus Christ if your carnal nature rules over you. 

        

Rom 8:5  “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.  

Rom 8:6  For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 

Rom 8:7  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.”

 

Apostle Paul went on to plead with his disciples to present their bodies as a ‘living sacrifice’ to God.

 

Rom 12:1  “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God,

Rom 12:2  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.”

 

Now compare that with the philosophy that is prevalent in the world at present.  Any notion that there is something better and infinitely more pleasant and enduring to hope for is anathema to this “me” generation.  They have given themselves over to full indulgence of their senses here and now, and heaven help those who stand in their way.  But then, what did the Apostles say about this generation?

 

2 Tim 3:1  “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:

2 Tim 3:2  For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful,

2 Tim 3:3  unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of

2 Tim 3:4  good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

2 Tim 3:5  having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!”

 

One cannot please God and the world at the same time.  Apostle Paul again:

 

Rom 8:8  “So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.  But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.

Rom 8:9  Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

Rom 8:10  And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.   But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus

Rom 8:11  from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Rom 8:12  Therefore, brethren, we are debtors; not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.

Rom 8:13  For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Rom 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”

 

Apostle John put it just as strongly.

 

1 John 2:15  “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

1 John 2:16  For all that is in the world; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; is not of the Father but is of.

1 John 2:17  the world   And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”

 

Indeed, the reward for bringing the flesh under subjection, and loving God rather than the world, is eternal life and pleasures forever more in the everlasting Kingdom of God. 

 

Psa 16:11  You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

 

Or as Jesus Christ said:

 

John 12:25  "He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

John 12:26  "If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honour.” 

 

Are the pleasures of this world worth anything if one loses his eternal life for them?  All the glamour, wealth, status, glory and joys that men crave in this world amount to nothing if in the end “he who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”  Those who think that these are mere idle words are gravely mistaken. 

Salvation is achieved by overcoming on two levels.  At the physical level, one must keep under control the pulls of human nature, and at the spiritual level, one must ensure that he believes and follows the right Christian doctrines and practices.       

Therefore exposing falsehood is NOT judging people, it is trying to save them by showing them a better way, because, “there is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” (Prov 14:12; 16:25). 

 

 

 

 

 

     Another Major End-Time Prophecy Unveiled

 

There is hardly a major prophecy in the Bible that we have not looked at and revealed in the pages of this magazine.  But just as we though that we had a break from them, at least for the time being, in came another one rushing in. We were surprised by the fact that we have discussed this prophecy before, and thought that we have solved it, but we found that we were wrong and had to admit it.   

Making mistakes is not a major problem in the Bible, but failing to admit them when one’s eyes are opened to them becomes a sin. Our mistake came from the fact that we allowed ourselves to be influenced by other people.  Almost without exception, whenever we relied on other people we ended up correcting ourselves.  Have a look at the following Scriptures.  

 

Rev 9:13  “Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet,

Rev 9:14  "Release the four angels who are .”

Rev 9:15  So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind.

Rev 9:16  Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them.”

Rev 16:12  “Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared.”

 

        It is a general belief among biblical scholars that the army of two hundred million coming from the East on the river Euphrates, would be made up of an alliance of ten nations that includes Russia, China and Iran among others. We have a number of publications in our hands that say so.  Well, we swallowed their pill, and were wrong like everybody else. 

        -  First, because there is no association between the river Euphrates and this alliance. 

        -  Second, because if you come against Israel you do not need to come up on the river Euphrates. 

        -  Third, because if you were to take an army even half that size from Russia or China across Asia towards Israel, you would swamp all nations on your way.  It would be a nightmare to supply such an army with all its needs – water, fuel, munitions, etc. 

        -  And fourth, prophecy says that the ten-nation alliance led by ‘the prince of Rosh’ will come against Israel not by land but by air, and not from the East, but from the North.

 

Ezek 38:2  "Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD:

Ezek 38:3  "Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.

Ezek 38:4  "I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords.

Ezek 38:5  "Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; "Gomer and all his troops;

Ezek 38:6  the house of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops; many people are with you.

Ezek 38:7  "Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them.

Ezek 38:8  "After many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely.

Ezek 38:9  "You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you. 

Ezek 38:10  "'Thus says the Lord GOD: "On that day it shall come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will make an evil plan:

Ezek 38:11  "You will say, 'I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates';

Ezek 38:12  "to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land. 

Ezek 38:13  "Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions will say to you, 'Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?'"  

Ezek 38:14  '"Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, 'Thus says the Lord GOD:

Ezek 38:15  "On that day when My people Israel dwell safely, will you not know it?  "Then you will come from your place out of the far north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army.

Ezek 38:16  "You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes."   'Thus says the Lord GOD:

Ezek 38:17  "Are you he of whom I have spoken in former days by My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied for years in those days that I would bring you against them?

Ezek 38:18  "And it will come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land of Israel," says the Lord GOD, "that My fury will show in My face. 

Ezek 38:19  "For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: 'Surely in that day

Ezek 38:20  there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel, so that the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence. The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.'

Ezek 38:21  "I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains," says the Lord GOD. "Every man's sword will be against his brother.” 

Ezek 38:22  "And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.

Ezek 38:23  "Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the LORD."' 

Ezek 39:1  "And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal;

Ezek 39:2   "and I will turn you around and lead you on, bringing you up from the far north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel.

Ezek 39:3  "Then I will knock the bow out of your left hand, and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand.

Ezek 39:4  "You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.

Ezek 39:5  "You shall fall on the open field; for I have spoken," says the Lord GOD.

Ezek 39:6   "And I will send fire on Magog, and on those who live in security in the coastlands. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.

Ezek 39:7  "So I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them profane My holy name anymore. Then the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.

Ezek 39:8  "Surely it is coming, and it shall be done," says the Lord GOD.

Ezek 39:9  "This is the day of which I have spoken.  "Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and bucklers, the bows and arrows, the javelins and spears; and they will make fires with em for seven years.  

Ezek 39:10  th"They will not take wood from the field nor cut down any from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons; and they will plunder those who plundered them, and pillage those who pillaged them," says the Lord GOD.

Ezek 39:11  "It will come to pass in that day that I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea; and it will obstruct travelers, because there they will bury Gog and all his multitude. Therefore they will call it the Valley of Hamon Gog. 

Ezek 39:12  "For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land.

Ezek 39:13  "Indeed all the people of the land will be burying, and they will gain renown for it on the day that I am glorified," says the Lord GOD. 

Ezek 39:14  "They will set apart men regularly employed, with the help of a search party, to pass through the land and bury those bodies remaining on the ground, in order to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will make a search.

Ezek 39:15  "The search party will pass through the land; and when anyone sees a man's bone, he shall set up a marker by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon Gog.

Ezek 39:16  "The name of the city will also be Hamonah. Thus they shall cleanse the land."'

Ezek 39:17  "And as for you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD, 'Speak to every sort of bird and to every beast of the field: "Assemble yourselves and come; Gather together from all sides to My sacrificial meal Which I am sacrificing for you, A great sacrificial meal on the mountains of Israel, That you may eat flesh and drink blood.

Ezek 39:18  You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, Drink the blood of the princes of the earth,

Ezek 39:19  Of rams and lambs, Of goats and bulls, All of them fatlings of Bashan. 

Ezek 39:20  You shall eat fat till you are full, And drink blood till you are drunk,  At My sacrificial meal Which I am sacrificing for you.  You shall be filled at My table With horses and riders, With mighty men And with all the men of war," says the Lord GOD. 

Ezek 39:21  "I will set My glory among the nations; all the nations shall see My judgment which I have executed, and My hand which I have laid on them.

Ezek 39:22  "So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day forward.

Ezek 39:23  "The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore I hid My face from them. I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. 

Ezek 39:24  "According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I have dealt with them, and hidden My face from them." 

Ezek 39:25  '"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Now I will bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name;

Ezek 39:26  'after they have borne their shame, and all their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, when they dwelt safely in their own land and no one made them afraid. 

Ezek 39:27  'When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and I am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations,

Ezek 39:28  'then they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, and left none of them captive any longer.

Ezek 39:29  'And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,' says the Lord GOD."

 

God has not yet been hallowed in Israel in the sight of all nations, as He was hallowed in Egypt in the sight of Israel in ancient time, an interesting type and prototype.

 

Exo 9:13  “Then the LORD said to Moses, "Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh,

Exo 9:14  and say to him, 'Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews: "Let My people go, that they may serve Me, for at this time I will send all My plagues to your very heart, and on your servants and on your people, that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth.

Exo 9:15  "Now if I had stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, then you would have been cut off from the earth. 

           Exo 9:16  "But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you,

and that My name may be declared in all the earth.”

 

Prophecies do not normally come as one long story like the one above in Ezekiel.  In most cases you have to go back and forth through the Bible and put them together in their proper setting in order to get their meaning.  This one however is pretty clear.  All that is left for us is to determine its timing.  But the first question that needs to be answered is, if this end-time alliance comes against Israel not by land but by air, who forms the army of the two hundred million that comes from the East on the Euphrates, and against whom are they being deployed?  This is where truth becomes more mysterious than fiction.  Before we discuss that, let us remind you what the Scriptures say about secrets and revelations, and how God deals with humans.  

 

Prov 25:2  “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.”

Deu 29:29  "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

Dan 2:47  “The king answered Daniel, and said, "Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret."

Amos 3:7  “Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.”

Isa 28:9  "Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message?

Isa 28:10  Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts?  For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little."

Isa 28:13  But the word of the LORD was to them, "Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little," That they might go and fall backward, and be broken And snared and caught.”

 

God takes pride in concealing prophetic things, and men cover themselves in glory discovering them.  However, those who take on this task should always remember that in the final analysis it is still God who reveals His secrets to His true servants anyway.  

So who forms the army of two hundred million that comes from the East on the Euphrates?  Hard to believe it but that prophecy has already been fulfilled.  It was the ‘coalition of the willing’ that invaded Iraq from the East in the second Gulf War – the armies of the USA, Great Britain, and Australia.  But their armies put together do not come anywhere near that figure, some might say.  Oh, but they do!  Because, you see, God does not count armies the way humans do.  God’s armies include all people from the age of twenty upward.  Notice:   

 

Num 1:2  "Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel, by their families, by their

Num 1:3  fathers' houses, according to the number of names, every male individually, from twenty years old and above; all who are able to go to war in Israel. You and Aaron shall number them by their armies.

 

Num 1:45  “So all who were numbered of the children of Israel, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war in Israel;

Num 1:46  all who were numbered were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty.”

 

If you count all people upwards of twenty years from those countries, you can easily reach that figure. And if you add the other countries that provided token or logistic support, Poland, Holland and more than thirty other countries, you exceed that figure by much.    

Now there is something else to this prophecy.  When we published the first edition of The Christian Herald in 1990, on the brink of the first Gulf War, we said that that war would lead to the Great Tribulation.  When that war ended and no worldwide tribulation ensued, our nemesis rejoiced and we were left with egg on our faces.

Like Jeremiah, we decided that we were not going to speak in the name of God again. 

 

Jer 20:7  O LORD, You induced me, and I was persuaded; You are stronger than I, and have prevailed. I am in derision daily; Everyone mocks me.

Jer 20:8  For when I spoke, I cried out; I shouted, "Violence and plunder!" Because the word of the LORD was made to me A reproach and a derision daily.

Jer 20:9  Then I said, "I will not make mention of Him, Nor speak anymore in His name." But His word was in my heart like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, And I could not.

Jer 20:10  For I heard many mocking: "Fear on every side!" "Report," they say, "and we will report it!" All my acquaintances watched for my stumbling, saying, "Perhaps he can be induced; Then we will prevail against him, And we will take our revenge on him."

 

Two years passed before we produced another edition of The Christian Herald.  As with Jeremiah, the Word of God was burning in our hearts too and we had no choice but to keep trudging on regardless.  But then, just as with Jeremiah, in the end we were proven right too.  The first Gulf War never ended.  It was not even a truce, for the United States, British and Australian planes or ships maintained a blockade against Iraq and pounded that nation at will whenever it stepped out of line.  The people of Iraq suffered more from the ‘peace’ imposed on them than from the two Gulf Wars put together.  So if we take that period in its entirety, our prediction that the Gulf War would lead to the Great Tribulation still stands.  This is when the coalition of ten nations led by the ‘prince of Rosh’ from the North will make its move.  

And yet, there is still more to this prophecy.  The Bible speaks of three wicked spirits associated with the army of two hundred million that comes up on the Euphrates.  

 

Rev 16:12  “Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared.

Rev 16:13  And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.

Rev 16:14  For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

         Rev 16:15  "Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his

 garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame."

 

Of course, these spirits represent human beings, but who might they be?  Well, who were the three leaders that fought to create the ‘coalition of the willing’, and are now seeking to create a coalition against North Korea, Iran and Syria – the allies of ‘Rosh’, Meshech, Tubal, God and Magog?  The three Maggies of the English speaking world!   If you do now know who they are, we are just not going to tell you.  What we are going to do though, is draw your attention to verse 15, which makes it clear that the prophecy about the river Euphrates would be fulfilled just before the return of Jesus Christ.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The Heritage Of The Hebrews

 

The Jews have suffered enough during their long and troubled history, without anyone adding to their woes in our time. However, watching what is happening in the Middle East these days, a neutral observer might have a hard time deciding who is a villain and who a victim of circumstance. 

One day you feel for the innocent Jews who are blown apart unexpectedly by Palestinian suicide bombers, and the next you feel for the grieving parents who after losing their son must also watch their abode being destroyed by avenging Israelis.

This is the price people pay for living in a time warp, which is what both Palestinians and Israelis are doing at present. They both hold on to beliefs and practices that have long passed their ‘use by date.’ It should be obvious to all by now, that eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth results in two blind and toothless cripples.  This is not to speak of a head for a head, which would be a more appropriate description of what really is happening in that land these days.     

We have tried hard to explain to both peoples that only an open and thorough examination of themselves and their beliefs, in light of overall historical and spiritual developments, can get them out of troubles.  We have asked them to take another look at the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, not at what historically has come down to us as Christianity, and admit that His Gospel far from being contrary to their revealed religion, it complements, enhances, and places it in a proper contemporary context.  We emphasize the word ‘revealed’ because like Christianity and other religions, both Judaism and Islam have suffered at the hands of false teachers in the meantime.

Having studied all three religions, and opening my heart to them at close quarters, I find it compellingly obvious that they are like the three middle fingers of one’s hand, one standing higher than the others but resting on them. This is not to diminish the value and importance of any religion, only to point out that after complementing each other they must grow together to a higher plateau – the true Christianity of Jesus Christ.

It may surprise people to know this, but Christianity has legacies from both Hebrew and Canaanite peoples.  Unfortunately not all of it has been positive.   

During my studies of religions at the university some two and a half decades ago, the Jewish scholar who lectured us in Judaism was always trying to channel our tutorial discussions towards questioning biblical events such as the Exodus, slavery in Egypt, and others. It was a wonder to me that instead of being proud of the legacy his people had given to the world he was undermining it. It took me a long time to understand why.

The latest television documentaries from the Middle East assure us that the Jews are not Semitic in origin, but Canaanites, having always lived in the Middle East alongside Palestinians. I shook my head in disbelief, as I am sure many other people did on hearing such preposterous claims. Clearly, in order to justify their presence in Palestine, the Jews are prepared to deny their own divinely apportioned heritage.

This is a major problem with the Jews. For much as we admire their tenacity in the face of adversity, and contribution to world heritage in many fields, they seem to have a major flaw in that when they set their minds on something nothing stands in their way, not even truth, and, if it were for them, not even God. 

They have run roughshod on their own religion, which instead of being a beacon to the world, as it was meant to be until Christ, Judaism, together with Islam, have become the most despised religions in the world. That is not what God intended for either of them. You may not agree with another religion, you may not like its customs, but in an interdependent world you accommodate it. Despise comes only when the basic norms of civilisation, which incorporate God’s divine laws, are breached. This is what is happening in both religions at present. 

One might be excused for thinking that Jewish scholarship these days equates with licence to invent the past.  As for Islamic scholarship, I can tell you about some great thinkers in the past, but I can’t think of anyone today.  Whenever one gets notoriety these days it is for crude invectives against Judaism or Christianity, or for senseless homicidal suicides.    

We will come to the Canaanite legacy to Christianity in a moment, but first let us have a look at a few aspects of Judaism as they relate to Christianity. There is a passage in the book of Revelation that is revealing indeed.  

 

Rev 3:7  "And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, 'These things says He who is holy, He who is true, "He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens":

Rev 3:8  "I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.  

Rev 3:9  "Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie; indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.  

Rev 3:10  "Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

Rev 3:11  "Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.”

 

The reference to King David and the people who falsely claimed to be Jews is fitting in that in addition to denying their Egyptian sojourn and Exodus, Jewish scholars are trying to get rid of David and his kingdom from their history books too.  Why? Because in order to sink their roots deeply into Palestine, they must cut any links with the Bible!  It doesn’t bother them that in so doing they make God a liar and will draw His vengeance and retribution.  

 

Heb 10:28  “Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three

Heb 10:29  witnesses.  Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? 

Heb 10:30  For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord.

Heb 10:31  And again, "The LORD will judge His people."  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

 

Jewish archaeologists assure us that there is no evidence that David’s kingdom ever existed.  The Bible is no proof for them anymore.   Now it is a well-known fact what modern historians have done to history.  They have ignored important historical documents and created a new history of the world, particularly of the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean basin, based mainly on potsherds.  Almost in every case they have moved history back in time by centuries and millennia in order to accommodate the fallacy of evolution. The case of David and his kingdom however, is the only one that we know of in which they have moved history forward by at least two centuries. We do not know why they did that, for there is no logic in it, but we do know that they are looking for David’s kingdom in the wrong place and at the wrong time.   

A few years ago, they finally found a potsherd piece that bore the inscription: King David.  It caused quite a stir.  They did not know what to do with it or whether it was genuine.  First, because it came from north Israel, where king David was not supposed to have been (that’s how well they know the history of David’s kingdom), and second because it did not come from the eighth century B.C. when they think David’s kingdom existed if at all.     

Christian historians however are not very far behind their Jewish counterparts when it comes to reshaping history, especially that of true Christianity.  We’ve all seen what they did to the story of the Dead Sea Scrolls (See The Christian Herald No 9).     

Now in wanting to be like the Canaanite people, the Jews have forgotten what the fate of the Canaanites was supposed to be. For just like the Jews, the Canaanites have positive and negative sides to their story.  Here, in a nutshell, is ancient Jewish history vis-a-vis that of their Middle Eastern neighbours. 

 

Gen 15:18  “On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: "To your descendants I

Gen 15:19  have  given, this land from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates;

Gen 15:20 "the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, "the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,

Gen 15:21  "the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites."

 

Deu 7:1  "When the LORD your God brings you into the land which you go to possess, and has cast out many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you, 

Deu 7:2  "and when the LORD your God delivers them over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them.   "Nor shall you make marriages with them.

Deu 7:3  You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son.  

Deu 7:4  "For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; so the anger of the LORD will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly”.

 

Deu 11:22  "For if you carefully keep all these commandments which I command you to do; to love the

Deu 11:23   LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, and to hold fast to Him;  "then the LORD will drive out all these nations from before you, and you will dispossess greater and mightier nations than yourselves.

Deu 11:24  "Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the River Euphrates, even to the Western Sea, shall be your territory.

Deu 11:25  "No man shall be able to stand against you; the LORD your God will put the dread of you and the fear of you upon all the land where you tread, just as He has said to you.”

 

Note carefully how far God said that He would extend the land of the Israelite people:  from the River of Egypt, to the River Euphrates.   

 

Josh 3:9  “So Joshua said to the children of Israel, "Come here, and hear the words of the LORD

Josh 3:10  your God."  And Joshua said, "By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites.”

 

Judg 2:10  “When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the LORD nor the work which He had done for Israel.

Judg 2:11  Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baals;

Judg 2:12  and they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the LORD to anger. 

Judg 2:13  They forsook the LORD and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.

Judg 2:14  And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel. So He delivered them into the hands of plunderers who despoiled them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies.

Judg 2:15  Wherever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for calamity, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were greatly distressed.   Nevertheless, the LORD

Judg 2:16  raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them.

Judg 2:17  Yet they would not listen to their judges, but they played the harlot with other gods, and bowed down to them. They turned quickly from the way in which their fathers walked, in obeying the commandments of the LORD; they did not do so.

Judg 2:18  And when the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed them and harassed them. 

Judg 2:19  And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they reverted and behaved more corruptly than their fathers, by following other gods, to serve them and bow down to them. They did not cease from their own doings nor from their stubborn way.” 

Judg 2:20  Then the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and He said, "Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers, and has not heeded

Judg 2:21  My voice, "I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which

Judg 2:22  Joshua left when he died, so that through them I may test Israel, whether they will keep the ways of the LORD, to walk in them as their fathers kept them, or not.

Judg 2:23 "Therefore the LORD left those nations, without driving them out immediately;

Judg 3:1  nor did He deliver them into the hand of Joshua.  Now these are the nations which the LORD left, that He might test Israel by them, that is,

Judg 3:2  all who had not known any of the wars in Canaan (this was only so that the generations of the children of Israel might be taught to know war, at least those who had not formerly known it),

Judg 3:3  namely, five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who dwelt in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to the entrance of Hamath.

Judg 3:4  And they were left, that He might test Israel by them, to know whether they would obey the commandments of the LORD, which He had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.

Judg 3:5  Thus the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 

Judg 3:6  And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons;

Judg 3:7  and they served their gods.  So the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God, and served the Baals and Asherahs. 

Judg 3:8  Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and He sold them into the hand of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia.”

 

Neh 9:13  "You came down also on Mount Sinai, And spoke with them from heaven, And gave them just ordinances and true laws, Good statutes and commandments. 

Neh 9:14  You made known to them Your holy Sabbath, And commanded them precepts, statutes

Neh 9:15  and laws, By the hand of Moses Your servant.  You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, And brought them water out of the rock for their thirst, And told them to go in to possess the land Which You had sworn to give them.

Neh 9:16  "But they and our fathers acted proudly, Hardened their necks, And did not heed Your commandments.

Neh 9:17  They refused to obey, And they were not mindful of Your wonders That You did among them. But they hardened their necks, And in their rebellion They appointed a leader To return to their bondage. But You are God, Ready to pardon, Gracious and

Neh 9:18  merciful, Slow to anger, Abundant in kindness, And did not forsake them.  "Even when they made a molded calf for themselves, And said, 'This is your god That brought you up out of Egypt,

Neh 9:19 ' And worked great provocations,  Yet in Your manifold mercies You did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day, To lead them on the road; Nor the pillar of fire by night, To show them light, And the way they should go.

Neh 9:20  You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, And did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, And gave them water for their thirst.

Neh 9:21  Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness, They lacked nothing; Their clothes did not wear out And their feet did not swell. 

Neh 9:22  "Moreover You gave them kingdoms and nations, And divided them into districts. So they took possession of the land of Sihon, The land of the king of Heshbon, And the land of Og king of Bashan.

Neh 9:23  You also multiplied their children as the stars of heaven, And brought them into the land Which You had told their fathers To go in and possess.

Neh 9:24  So the people went in And possessed the land; You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, And gave them into their hands, With their kings And the people of the land, That they might do with them as they wished.

Neh 9:25  And they took strong cities and a rich land, And possessed houses full of all goods, Cisterns already dug, vineyards, olive groves, And fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and grew fat, And delighted themselves in Your great goodness.

Neh 9:26  "Nevertheless they were disobedient And rebelled against You, Cast Your law behind their backs And killed Your prophets, who testified against them To turn them to Yourself; And they worked great

Neh 9:27  provocations. Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their enemies, Who oppressed them; And in the time of their trouble, When they cried to You, You heard from heaven; And according to Your abundant mercies You gave them deliverers who saved them From the hand of their enemies.

Neh 9:28  "But after they had rest, They again did evil before You. Therefore You left them in the hand of their enemies, So that they had dominion over them; Yet when they returned and cried out to You, You heard from heaven; And many times You delivered them according to Your mercies, 

Neh 9:29  And testified against them, That You might bring them back to Your law. Yet they acted proudly, And did not heed Your commandments, But sinned against Your judgments, 'Which if a man does, he shall live by them.' And they shrugged their shoulders, Stiffened their necks, And would not hear.

Neh 9:30  Yet for many years You had patience with them, And testified against them by Your Spirit in Your prophets. Yet they would not listen; Therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.

Neh 9:31  Nevertheless in Your great mercy You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them; For You are God, gracious and merciful.”

 

There is not much one can, or should, add to this rendition of Jewish history directly from the Bible.  The Jews have forgotten that their inheritance of the Middle Eastern area does not come by virtue of human roots, but by divine decree.  God gave it to them because the previous inhabitants defiled the land with all sorts of abominable sins.  

 

Lev 18:24  “'Do not defile yourselves with any of these things; for by all these the nations are defiled, which I am casting out before you.

Lev 18:25  'For the land is defiled; therefore I visit the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land vomits out its inhabitants.

Lev 18:26  'You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations, either any of your own nation or any stranger who dwells among you

Lev 18:27  '(for all these abominations the men of the land have done, who were before you, and thus the land is defiled), 'lest the land vomit

Lev 18:28  you out also when you defile it, as it vomited out the nations that were before you.

Lev 18:29  'For whoever commits any of these abominations, the persons who commit them shall be

Lev 18:30  cut off from among their people.  'Therefore you shall keep My ordinance, so that you do not commit any of these abominable customs which were committed before you, and that you do not defile yourselves by them: I am the LORD your God.'"

 

Lev 20:22  'You shall therefore keep all My statutes and all My judgments, and perform them, that the land where I am bringing you to dwell may not vomit you out. 

Lev 20:23  'And you shall not walk in the statutes of the nation which I am casting out before you; for they commit all these things, and therefore I abhor them.

Lev 20:24  'But I have said to you, "You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey." I am the LORD your God, who has separated you from the peoples.  

Lev 20:26  'And you shall be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.”

 

Deu 30:1  "Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God drives you, "and you return to the LORD

Deu 30:2  your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your

Deu 30:3  children, with all your heart and with all your soul,  "that the LORD your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the

Deu 30:4  LORD your God has scattered you. "If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you.

Deu 30:5    "Then the LORD your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers.

Deu 30:6  "And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

Deu 30:7  "Also the LORD your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate

Deu 30:8  you, who persecuted you. "And you will again obey the voice of the LORD and do all His commandments which I command you today.”

 

The reason the Lord God has not yet circumcised their heart and put their curses on their enemies is because they have not yet committed themselves to obeying His Commandments and judgments. They continue to seek their own righteousness, instead of the righteousness of God, and so they keep paying a penalty for it.  As Apostles Paul wrote: 

 

Rom 9:29  “And as Isaiah said before: "Unless the LORD of Sabaoth had left us a seed, We would have become like Sodom, And we would have been made like Gomorrah."

Rom 9:30  What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; 

Rom 9:31  but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness.

Rom 9:32  Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law.

Rom 9:33  For they stumbled at that stumbling stone.  As it is written: "Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense,  And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."

 

Rom 10:1  Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.

Rom 10:2  For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.

Rom 10:3  For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. 

Rom 10:4  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Rom 10:5  For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, "The man who does those

Rom 10:6  things shall live by them."But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?' "  (that is, to bring Christ down from above), or,   

Rom 10:7  " 'Who will descend into the abyss?' " (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).

Rom 10:8  But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart"

Rom 10:9  (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

    

Why the Jews continue to stubbornly seek their own righteousness, a righteousness based on law, rather that the righteousness of God based on faith, remains a great mystery.  

Since they continue to rely on the Law of the Old Testament, perhaps one should remind them again what that Law required, and the price they pay now for not fulfilling it. 

 

Judg 1:27  “However, Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages;

Judg 1:28  for the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land.  And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites under tribute, but did not completely drive them out.

Judg 1:29  Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer; so the Canaanites dwelt in

Judg 2:1  Gezer among them.”  “Then the Angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said: "I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers; and I said,

Judg 2:2  'I will never break My covenant with you.'  And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.' But you have not obeyed My voice.

Judg 2:3  Why have you done this?  "Therefore I also said, 'I will not drive them out before you; but they shall be thorns in your side, and their gods shall be a snare to you.'"

 

A condition of Jewish inheritance of that land was the elimination of the sinful native inhabitants. Now whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the world is prepared to accept this fact or not, what is happening in the Middle East is a continuation of the process the Israelite people had started in ancient time but had not finished.  But now there is one big difference: the kingdom that God is preparing for the Jews in the Middle East will be inherited by people who live by the Law of God not the law of the jungle as they do at present.  The Millennial Kingdom will be based on entirely new borders and customs.  Its King will be Jesus Christ, and only those that turn to Him will inherit that Kingdom, and they could come from any nation.  In other words, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ belongs to the Jews by faith not by blood. 

The American Christians who have allied themselves with the current Jews, in the belief that they will inherit that Kingdom, are betraying their own legacy and making a mockery of Jesus’ Gospel and His teachings.  I they want to help the Jews, they can do so by preaching the need to convert to Jesus Christ now, so that God would help them through the catastrophe that is about to hit their country and the world.  They should never have forgotten that those who take the sword will perish by the sword (Mat 26:52), and only the elect of God can be sure of God’s salvation (Mat. 24:22).    

What the Jews do in the Middle East right now is wrong even by the standards of king David that extended the Kingdom of Israel from the Nile to the Euphrates.  The rule he applied then, and approved by God, was to either obliterate the sinful native inhabitants altogether, or convert them to the Law of God and let them live as servants in his kingdom.  But the mishmash of inequity the Jews practice in the Middle East at present – punishing parents for the sins of their children, destroying their homes, and leaving them broken hearted in the street, is contrary to the Law of God, which they claim to uphold.

 

Ezek 18:1  “The word of the LORD came to me again, saying,   “What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying:

Ezek 18:2  'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children's teeth are set on edge'?

Ezek 18:3  "As I live," says the Lord GOD, "you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel.

Ezek 18:4  "Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father As well as the soul of the son is Mine;

Ezek 18:5  The soul who sins shall die. But if a man is just And does what is lawful and right;

Ezek 18:6  If he has not eaten on the mountains, Nor lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, Nor defiled his neighbor's wife, Nor approached a woman during her impurity;

Ezek 18:7  If he has not oppressed anyone, But has restored to the debtor his pledge; Has robbed no one by violence, But has given his bread to the hungry And covered the naked with clothing;

Ezek 18:8  “If he has not exacted usury Nor taken any increase, But has withdrawn his hand from iniquity And executed true judgment between man and man;

Ezek 18:9  If he has walked in My statutes And kept My judgments faithfully; He is just; He shall surely live!" Says the Lord GOD.

Ezek 18:10  "If he begets a son who is a robber Or a shedder of blood, Who does any of these things,

Ezek 18:11  And does none of those duties, But has eaten on the mountains Or defiled his neighbor's

Ezek 18:12  wife; If he has oppressed the poor and needy, Robbed by violence, Not restored the pledge,

Ezek 18:13  Lifted his eyes to the idols, Or committed abomination; If he has exacted usury Or taken increase; Shall he then live? He shall not live! If he has done any of these abominations, He shall surely die; His blood shall be upon him.

Ezek 18:14  "If, however, he begets a son Who sees all the sins which his father has done, And considers but does not do likewise; 

Ezek 18:15  Who has not eaten on the mountains, Nor lifted his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel,

Ezek 18:16  Nor defiled his neighbour's wife;  Has not oppressed anyone, Nor withheld a pledge, Nor robbed by violence, But has given his bread to the hungry And covered the naked with clothing;

Ezek 18:17  Who has withdrawn his hand from the poor And not received usury or increase, But has executed My judgments And walked in My statutes; He shall not die for the iniquity of his father; He shall surely live!

Ezek 18:18  "As for his father, Because he cruelly oppressed, Robbed his brother by violence, And did what is not good among his people, Behold, he shall die for his iniquity.

Ezek 18:19  "Yet you say, 'Why should the son not bear the guilt of the father?' Because the son has done what is lawful and right, and has kept all My statutes and observed them, he shall surely live.

Ezek 18:20  "The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the

Ezek 18:21  wicked shall be upon himself.  "But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 

Ezek 18:22  "None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall live.

Ezek 18:23  "Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?" says the Lord GOD, "and not that he should turn from his ways and live? 

Ezek 18:24  "But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die.

Ezek 18:25  "Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not fair.' Hear now, O house of Israel, is it not My way which is fair, and your ways which are not fair?’ 

Ezek 18:26  When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity, and dies in it, it is because of the iniquity which he has done that he dies.

Ezek 18:27  "Again, when a wicked man turns away from the wickedness which he committed, and does what is lawful and right, he preserves himself alive. 

Ezek 18:28  "Because he considers and turns away from all the transgressions which he committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die.” 

Ezek 18:29  Yet the house of Israel says, 'The way of the Lord is not fair.' O house of Israel, is it not My ways which are fair, and your ways which are not fair? "Therefore I will judge you,

Ezek 18:30  O house of Israel, every one according to his ways," says the Lord GOD.

Ezek 18:31  "Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin.”  "Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel?   "For I have no pleasure

Ezek 18:32 in the death of one who dies," says the Lord GOD. "Therefore turn and live!"

 

I saw a documentary film from the Middle East recently in which a poor old Palestinian woman was living in a limited space on the lower floor of her house while Israeli settlers were living unperturbed in the spacious upper floor.   All she said was: “May God grant them what they deserve”. That is one of the most powerful prayer anyone can make before God, especially for one’s enemies.  The Jews better pray to God that He does not give them what they deserve, for if their enemy’s prayer is heard they are in bigger trouble than they can imagine. 

What the Jews should remember is that the Palestinians of today are not like their ancient counterparts who polluted the land with abominable practices.  Today’s Palestinians practice a religion that has its roots in Abraham, just like theirs (See the next article).  Of course, Islam is not going to save the Palestinians any more than Judaism is going to save the Jews when the Great Tribulation engulfs the world shortly.  Both Jews and Palestinians need to change their heart and convert to Jesus Christ without delay, otherwise there will be no end to the common troubles they inflict on themselves.  The following Scriptures reflect the transition of the Middle East from the current age to the Millennial Kingdom of Jesus Christ.         

 

Zec 12:1  “The burden of the word of the LORD against Israel. Thus says the LORD, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him:

Zec 12:2  "Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. "And it shall happen in that day that I will make

Zec 12:3 Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it. "In that day," says the LORD,

Zec 12:4  "I will strike every horse with confusion, and its rider with madness; I will open My eyes on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.

Zec 12:5  "And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, 'The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in the LORD of hosts, their God.

Zec 12:6  "In that day I will make the governors of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left, but Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place; Jerusalem.

Zec 12:7   "The LORD will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah.  "In that day

Zec 12:8  the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the LORD before them.

Zec 12:9  "It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

Zec 12:10  "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. 

Zec 12:11  "In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 

Zec 12:12  "And the land shall mourn, every family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves;

Zec 12:13  "the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, and their wives by themselves; 

Zec 12:14  "all the families that remain, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves.

Zec 13:1  "In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness.  “It shall be in that day," says the LORD of hosts,

Zec 13:2   "that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no longer be remembered. I will also cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land.

 

That will be the end of Judaism, of Islam, and of every other religion, and the beginning of a new universal religion – the religion of Jesus Christ.

 

 

 

 

 

Islam’s Legacy in Judaism and Christianity

 

The word Palestinian these days identifies the people who live in narrow and isolated patches of land on either side of Israel.  But if we take the word in its ancient connotations, Palestina was a Roman province that comprised the whole of the Middle East, from Asia Minor to the Nile and from the Mediterranean to the Arabian Peninsula.

If we look further back in history, we find an amazing legacy of the people who lived in those lands in both Judaism and Christianity.  Let us begin with Islam.  The Islamic people say that Muhammad was their great prophet, and he was; but they also say that Abraham was their forefather, as he was of the Jews, and that is true too. The question is, when did the Islamic religion really begin: at Mohammed or at Abraham’s time?

Is it right to say that Islam began with Muhammad when the roots of the people who began that religion go as far back as Abraham?  Wouldn’t it rather be more accurate to say that God accomplished in Muhammad what He promised Abraham  more than two millennia earlier?  If we place Islam in its proper historical context we find that there are far more links and similarities between the three religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – than if we look at their degenerate condition in which they have came down to us.     

Surely Mohammad had visions from God and codified the law that gave Islam its identity, but before him the Arabs were not complete strangers to God.  They were not in the same league as the occupants of Palestine that were supposed to be wiped out or driven out altogether from Palestine due to their abominable practices that had polluted the land. The Arabs had a good seed in themselves, having come out of the loins of Abraham, the friend of God, just like the Israelite tribes. 

 

      Isa 41:8  "But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, The descendants of Abraham My friend.”

 

God chose Israel to disseminate His law among the Gentiles, but the Arabs could not have been complete strangers to His law either, a fact confirmed by the similarities between Islamic and Judaic codes of law.  Either that, or Muhammad was trained in a Judaic school of law, a preposterous idea. 

We may not like aspects of Islamic law, but if Judaism had prevailed and come down to us in its raw form, we too would cut the limbs of thieves, and stone adulterers to death in market places. 

People keep saying that the Arabs were a bunch of wild tribes, fighting savagely among themselves before Mohammad tamed them and gave them a semblance of civilisation.  But so were Israel’s tribes, both before and after Moses gave them the law of God.   Wild and fighting among themselves the Arabic tribes were, but pagan they were not, as many of our critics keep telling us.  It is on the customs and laws inherited from Abraham that Mohammed built the Islamic code of laws.     

Moses was a great prophet.  Mohammed was a great prophet.  But greater than they both was the man whom God declared to be His friend – Abraham.  A friend of God is greater than a prophet of God.  In the course of time there have been many prophets (messengers) of God, but only one friend of God.    

Abraham was an obedient and fearful man before God, and that is why God said that the whole world would be blessed in his seed.   If we look at the life of Abraham, we find that he was familiar with the laws that God gave Moses for Israel later on.  So was Isaac, so was Jacob, and so were the twelve tribes.  Is it not it reasonable then to assume that so was Ishmael, Abraham’s first son, and the father of the Arabs?   

The people that gave rise to Judaism and Islam not only have common roots in Abraham, but have equally benefited from Abraham’s blessings down through the centuries. Notice God promised Abraham regarding Ishmael.

 

Gen 16:10  “Then the Angel of the LORD said to [Hagar], "I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.” 

Gen 16:11  "And the Angel of the LORD said to her: "Behold, you are with child, And you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, Because the LORD has heard your affliction.”

Gen 16:13  “Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, "Have I also here seen Him who sees me? 

Gen 16:14  "Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; observe, it is between Kadesh and Bered.  

Gen 16:15  So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.”

 

Gen 17:18  “And Abraham said to God, "Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!"

Gen 17:19  Then God said: "No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.

Gen 17:20  "And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.”

 

God established his covenant with Isaac, but Ishmael was to become a ‘great nation’ too.

God however does not exclude anyone from the covenant of salvation that He fulfilled in Jesus Christ. That is why we say that converting to Christianity does not mean giving up on either of the two prophets: Moses or Muhammad, for neither Judaism under Moses, nor Islam under Muhammad, are complete without Jesus Christ.  Both prophets prepared their peoples for this world, and both fulfilled their destinies admirably having grown into religious empires that covered the world. 

Jesus Christ however spoke of a different kind of kingdom, one that does not belong to this world.

 

John 8:23  “And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.”

John 18:35  “Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You

John 18:36  done?"  Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here."

John 18:37  Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?" Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."     

 

Neither Moses nor Muhammad were from above; they were both human beings born of humans.  Not so Jesus Christ.  He was born of the seed of God, planted into a virgin that came from the seed of David, just as the Scriptures have predicted long in advance. 

 

Isa 7:10  “Moreover the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying, "Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD

Isa 7:11  your God; ask it either in the depth or in the height above."

Isa 7:14  "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel [Literally God-With-Us].“

 

Jesus Christ was confirmed as the expected Messiah and Saviour of the whole world by the multitude of miracles He performed, the likes of which no man had ever come near to accomplishing. 

 

Acts 2:22  "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know; 

Acts 2:23  "Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;

Acts 2:24  "whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that

Acts 2:25  He should be held by it.  "For David says concerning Him: 'I foresaw the LORD always before my face, For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.  Therefore my heart rejoiced,

Acts 2:26  and my tongue was glad; Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope.

Acts 2:27  For You will not leave my soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.

Acts 2:28  You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.'

Acts 2:29  "Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 

Acts 2:30  "Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,

Acts 2:31  "he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. 

Acts 2:32  "This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.

Acts 2:33  "Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.

Acts 2:34  "For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: 'The LORD said to my Lord,

Acts 2:35  "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."'

Acts 2:36  "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." 

Acts 2:37  Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the

Acts 2:38  apostles,   "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"  Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive

Acts 2:39  the gift of the Holy Spirit. "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."

 

Now here is where we come to the legacy of the Islamic and Palestinian people in both Judaism and Christianity.  According to the Scriptures, Jesus Christ was the Son of David, but David was a great, grandson of a Jewish father and a Moabites mother (See the story in the book of Ruth).  Moab is said to be the father of the Jordanians.   Therefore, through His human lineage, Jesus Christ had blood in Himself from both Judaism and Islam. 

Do you think that that was done by accident?  Nothing in the Bible has ever been put there by accident. It was done rather to show the Islamic people that when they come to Jesus Christ they do not embrace a stranger but their own Son, just like the Jews.  

Moreover, if we take a more carefully look at the Israelite history, we find an amazing number of interconnections between them and their surrounding people.  The Jews intermarried Canaanite women (Genesis 38).  The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh came from Joseph and an Egyptian woman.  King Rehoboam had Solomon as father and an Ammonite woman as mother (1 Kings 14:31).  We already pointed out that David had a Jewish father and a Moabites mother.  The master craftsman of the Temple of God had an Israelite woman as mother and a man of Tyre as father (1 Kings 7:13-14).  And there are other similar examples.  But what is perhaps even more extraordinary is that Jesus Christ acknowledge a debt to the Canaanites by appointing one their own among His Apostles.   

 

Mat 10:2  “Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and

Mat 10:3  Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;

Mat 10:4  Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

Mat 10:5  These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: "Do not go into the way of the

Mat 10:6  Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans.  "But go rather to the lost sheep of the

Mat 10:7  house of Israel.  "And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'

 

Now we know that in the Kingdom of God the twelve Apostles will sit on thrones beside Jesus Christ, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 

 

Mat 19:23  “Then Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to

Mat 19:24   enter the kingdom of heaven”.  And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

Mat 19:25  When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?"

Mat 19:26  But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."   Then Peter answered and said to Him,

Mat 19:27  "See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?"

Mat 19:28  So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Mat 19:29  "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.

Mat 19:30  "But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

 

So, in the Kingdom of God a man of Canaanite roots will rule over one of the tribes of Israel.  That will be the ultimate vengeance of the Palestinians over the ‘infidels’.  Well, really, what that shows us rather is the international character of Christianity, and the fact that Jesus Christ accepts people for the most prestigious positions in His kingdom from all nations regardless of their heritage.  Jesus Christ also expressed great admiration for a Canaanite woman who showed unusual faith in Him.

 

Mat 15:22  “And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord,

Mat 15:23  Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed."  But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, "Send her away, for she cries out after us."

Mat 15:24  But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

Mat 15:25  Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, help me!"  But He answered and said,

Mat 15:26  "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs."

Mat 15:27  And she said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their

Mat 15:28  masters' table.  "Then Jesus answered and said to her, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.”

 

What saved that woman and her daughter was her faith.  Her daughter was healed on the spot, but we have no doubt that she gained a place in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ through her faith too. 

Christianity has always been a religion for the afflicted – the people who have suffered at the lawlessness, violence and destruction that has characterised this world from the very beginning.  The Palestinian people, as well as the Jews and all those who are currently afflicted around the world, can turn their misfortune into an asset by turning to the One and only Saviour of the world, the very Son of God and founder of Christianity. 

"We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God", said one of the Apostles (Acts 14:22).  That Kingdom of God comes with an exceedingly wonderful bonus: eternal life.  Not life in a non-existent paradise after death, but real life in real Kingdom, after the resurrection and judgment of God.    This is what Jesus Christ said about the struggles for life in this world:

 

Mat 10:28  "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

 

He went on to say:

 

Mat 10:38  "He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.

Mat 10:39  "He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.”

 

Those who set their life on this world will lose it, but those who seek righteousness, truth, justice, peace, and love, in submission to God, will gain more than life, will gain immortality in His Kingdom.   

God does not recognise nations on boundaries set by men, but on cultural, linguistic, and religious ties.  It should come as no surprise that it took God a long time, by human standards, to establish Islam as a world religion and power.   He is not bound by the time limitations that we humans are. What seems a long time to us is a drop in the ocean for Him.  When He made His promises to Abraham and his children, He did not set a succession or a dateline for their accomplishment.

Both Judaism and Islam were evolving religions.  They began with Abraham and were given identities by their respective prophets: Moses and Mohammad.   But just as Judaism was to be fulfilled in a new Prophet, so was Islam, and for that matter, so are all religions of the world.   

 

Deu 18:15  "The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear.”

 

The fact that the Jews had remained frozen in time and refused to hear the Prophet promised them by Moses does not invalidate this principle.  The Jews have not subjected themselves to the righteousness of God, a righteousness based on faith, but have sought to establish their own righteousness, one based on law. 

 

Rom 1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

Rom 1:17  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."

 

Rom 3:19  Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law

Rom 3:20  no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Rom 3:21  But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the

Rom 3:22  Law and the Prophets,  even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;

Rom 3:23  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Rom 3:24  being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

Rom 3:25  whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance

Rom 3:26  God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Rom 3:27  Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith.

Rom 3:28  Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.

Rom 3:29  Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles?

Rom 3:30  Yes, of the Gentiles also, since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.  Do we then make void the law through faith?

Rom 3:31  Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.

Rom 4:1  What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh?

Rom 4:2  For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.

Rom 4:3  For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness."

  Rom 4:4  Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.

  Rom 4:5  But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,

  Rom 4:6  just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:

  Rom 4:7  "BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS ARE FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS ARE COVERED;

  Rom 4:8  BLESSED IS THE MAN TO WHOM THE LORD SHALL NOT IMPUTE SIN."

  Rom 4:9  Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness.

  Rom 4:10  How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised.

  Rom 4:11  And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also,

  Rom 4:12  and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.

Rom 4:13  For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

Rom 4:14  For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no

Rom 4:15  effect, because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no

Rom 4:16  transgression.  Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all (as it is written,

Rom 4:17 "I have made you a father of many nations") in the presence of Him whom he believed; God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;

Rom 4:18  who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, "So shall your descendants be."

 

Rom 5:1  Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord

Rom 5:2  Jesus Christ,  through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Rom 5:3  And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces

Rom 5:4  perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Rom 5:5  Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. 

Rom 5:6  For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

Rom 5:7  For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.

Rom 5:8  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners,

Rom 5:9  Christ died for us.  Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

 

Rom 6:12  Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.

Rom 6:13  And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

Rom 6:14  For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Rom 6:15  What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!

Rom 6:16  Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?

Rom 6:17  But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 

Rom 6:18  And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

Rom 6:19  I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.

Rom 6:20  For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.

Rom 6:21  What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed?

Rom 6:22  For the end of those things is death.  But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. 

Rom 6:23  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

 

Rom 7:4  Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another; to Him who was raised from the dead,

Rom 7:5  that we should bear fruit to God.  For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death.

Rom 7:6  But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.

Rom 7:7  What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said,

Rom 7:8  "You shall not covet. "But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead.

Rom 7:9  I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.

Rom 7:10  And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death.

Rom 7:11  For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me.

Rom 7:12  Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.

Rom 7:13  Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become

Rom 7:14  exceedingly sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.

Rom 7:15  For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.

Rom 7:16  If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good.

Rom 7:17  But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 

Rom 7:19  For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.

Rom 7:20  Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

Rom 7:21  I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.

Rom 7:22  For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.

Rom 7:23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 

Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

Rom 7:25  I thank God; through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

 

Rom 8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

Rom 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

Rom 8:3  For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,

Rom 8:4  that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 

Rom 8:5  For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

Rom 8:6  For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Rom 8:7  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.

Rom 8:8  So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Rom 8:9  But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

Rom 8:10  And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of

Rom 8:11  righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

 

Rom 9:30  What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith;

Rom 9:31  but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness.

Rom 9:32  Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law.

Rom 9:33  For they stumbled at that stumbling stone.  As it is written: "Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.

Rom 10:1  "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.

Rom 10:2  For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.

Rom 10:3  For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. 

Rom 10:4  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Rom 10:5  For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, "The man who does those

Rom 10:6  things shall live by them.  "But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?' " (that is, to bring Christ down from above)  or,

Rom 10:7  " 'Who will descend into the abyss?' " (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).

Rom 10:8  But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart"

Rom 10:9  (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Rom 10:10  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made

Rom 10:11  unto salvation. For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."

Rom 10:12  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all

Rom 10:13  who call upon Him. For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved."

 

What these wonderful passages are telling us is that a righteousness based on faith is what counts when it comes to salvation and eternal life.  But there is more to it, for notice what Jesus Christ said about faith. 

 

John 20:24  “Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.

John 20:25  The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." So he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."

John 20:26  And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said,

John 20:27  "Peace to you!"  Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing."

John 20:28  And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"

John 20:29  Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

 

It is an enormously liberating experience when one puts his trust in God, embracing Him and His principles. 

 

Psa 56:11  “In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

Psa 118:6  “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”

Psa 23:1  “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Psa 23:2  He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.

Psa 23:3  He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake.

Psa 23:4  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

Psa 23:5  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil;

Psa 23:6  My cup runs over.  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.”

 

The time for aggressive religions is over.  The time for loving your enemies as yourself and submitting to the will of God is here and now.  Those who stand against the tide of history will be crashed by it.  Humanity is truly on the brink of calamitous changes.  If people find themselves unprepared for those changes it will not be because they have not been told about it, but because they have shut their ears to sound knowledge and chose willing ignorance. 

God is ready to open His heart to anyone who welcomes His Son Jesus Christ.  The nations who refuse to do so will simply vanish from the face of the earth.  

 

Zec 2:11  "Many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and they shall become My people. And I will dwell in your midst. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you.”

 

Acts 10:34  “Then Peter opened his mouth and said: "In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality.

Acts 10:35  "But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.”

 

When Jesus Christ will establish the Kingdom of God, Israel will be one of three honoured nations.   

 

Isa 19:21  “Then the LORD will be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day, and will make sacrifice and offering; yes, they will make a vow to the LORD and perform it.

Isa 19:23  In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will serve with the Assyrians.

Isa 19:24  In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria [modern Germany]; a blessing in the midst of the land, whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying,

Isa 19:25  "Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance."

 

Israel of course means all twelve of the tribes of Israel, not only the Jews.  That includes the nations of Europe and those that have arisen from the European Empires.

Now just as Judaism in its current form will come to an end at the return of Jesus Christ, so will Islam and all other religions.   That event is truly at hand, so why not give yourselves a head start by embracing the eternally saving religion of the Son of God.

 

 

 

Darwin, And His Theory Of Evolution,

   Finally Put To Rest

 

On June 12, 2003, Australian public broadcaster, the ABC, presented a televised program that will shake the worldwide scientific establishment to its core.  It presented well-documented data which showed that Darwin’s theory of evolution has never had any scientific foundation whatsoever.  The data was presented not by theologians or creationist scientists, who have unsuccessfully fought this theory from the very beginning, but by evolutionary scientists themselves. 

The effect of this presentation will have far reaching and costly consequences upon educational institutions everywhere, which will have to rewrite their biology books and retrain their teachers in accordance with the new discoveries.

The program represents such an important milestone in the development of scientific research that we decided to present a transcript of much of it so that it could be viewed, studied, and analysed at length by all interested parties. 

 

     “Ted’s Evolution”

 

“For twenty five years, he [Ted Steele] has been trying to show that improvements made to the body in one generation, can be passed on to the next.  But to do so, he will have to shatter one of the great foundations of science – Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. 

For his transgression, Ted Steel has been hound down, exiled and called a heretic.  Either he has made a monumental blunder, or a discovery that could change our understanding of how we evolved.  

Ted’s Steel journey begins in 1978 in Toronto, Canada, when he was working with a group of young scientists on cutting age research into how the body improves its immune system.  Here he met Reg Guzinsky, who would come to play a key role in his future work.

Dr. Ted Steele, Molecular Immunologist:  ”Well, I’ve read Reg first, and he was giving a seminar in the swash buckling tradition of young scientists who couldn’t really care less of what the rest of us thought. That was Reg. I was very attractive to that for obvious reasons and we became instant friends.”

Dr. Reg Gorczynski, Cell Biologist:  “He was very vibrant, he was very enthusiastic, he was very down to earth, and I thought, I mean, this fellow would be fun to work with. “

 

   Caption: June 1978

Commentator: “It was at this time that Ted read a book that would change the course of his career.  In it, science writer, Arthus Kirsma (?) resurrected a 200 years old theory of evolution.  John Baptiste Lamarck, proposed that characteristics acquired during our life time, could be passed on to offspring.  If Lamarck was right, then improved immunity in our lifetime could be passed on to our children.  But if correct, this would shake evolutionary theory to its core.

T.S.  “It’s so simple, it’s just dropped down, you know, the pencil just dropped down the page.  And a great feeling of peace came over me.  And I thought, well that solved that one.  Little did I know, a quarter of a century later where it would lead.”

Com.  “For Ted Steele if would mean embracing one of the most discredited theories in the history of science.  Lamarck believed that the giraffe got its long neck by reaching for higher leaves, passing the trait on to future generations. 

Fifty years later, this theory of evolution was abandoned when Charles Darwin proposed that evolution is the result of natural selection.  The giraffe’s long neck, Darwin’s Theory suggested, is not the result of acquired traits being passed on to offspring, but of accidental mutations that over thousands of years help the species adapt to its environment.  But Ted Steele remained convinced, that at least in the case for immunity acquired traits could in fact be passed on.”

T.S.  “As soon as I saw Reg I said, Reg I saw this idea.  Boom, he immediately saw the significance of it.”

Com. “It was in this local bar that they first discussed Ted’s theory.”         

T.S. “At that time we had no idea what we would do. We were just talking about of how utterly convincing the theory was.”

Com. “Then Ted’s supervisor asked him to give a seminar to explain how this Lamarckian idea might work.”

T.S. “The seminar ended in disarray; and it was actually a violent seminar, you know, ha, ha. 

He actually had to terminate it after five to ten minutes because quite clearly no one wanted to listen to what I was going to say.”

Dr. Alastair Cunningham, Immunologist, Research Supervisor:  “He was coming up against a number of people here with worldwide reputations.  When you have people like that they are not about to give up their positions to some maverick who was going to change the whole fabric underneath them, are they, ha, ha.”

Reg Gorczynski.  “People could not handle the way the message was trying to be presented.    Let things graaadually sink through to the audience; this is a very controversial subject, challenges a lot of your dogma; OK let me come back and talk to you about it again tomorrow.  Well, Ted wasn’t like that.  Here it is, bloody data is unequivocal.  You accept it; you don’t accept it?  I mean, it’s gone, it’s history after that, ha, ha.”

Com.  “What Ted Steele was challenging was not only Darwin’s Theory of evolution, but one of the most fundamental principles of biology – the Wiseman barrier.  In 1885, August Wiseman, set up a grizzly experiment to disprove the Lamarckian idea that acquired traits could be passed on.  He chopped off the tails of hundreds of live mice to see if their offspring would be born without tail.  After he mutilated 22 generations of rodents, not one mouse was born without a tail.  Wiseman’s explanation was that there must be an impenetrable barrier between body cells and reproductive cells.  Its purpose is the very basis of survival.  It stops harmful mutations being passed on to the next generation.”

T.S.  “Penetrating the Wiseman’s barrier to me was a major problem, in biology, which had to be established, full stop.  And I’ve done my darndest, over 25 years to penetrate that barrier, in different ways, theoretically and experimentally.”

Com.  “If Ted could find a way of crossing this barrier, then he might be able to prove that Lamarckian inheritance, at least in the immune system, could be correct.  First he needed to explain how genes could cross the Wiseman’s barrier from body to reproductive cells.  He began to compile a manuscript of his ideas.”

T.S.  “I was just in the library, I was photocopying, I as thinking, I was transported by it.  I was on a mission.  I had to get this document down in its total coherence, as quickly as possible before the next confrontation with that institute.”

Com. “Meanwhile Reg Gorczynski had began some experiments without telling Ted.”

T.S.  “It was in that interlude that Reg got me in the corridor. Can’t remember the exact day. He said, look, the experiment is running; don’t worry about it.  Ha, ha, ha, I said, what do you mean don’t worry about it. “Don’t worry about it,” he said,  “it is running”. “

Com.  “Reg had devised what he believed was the perfect test of Ted’s theory.  First, newborn male mice were injected with bone marrow from another mouse.   The goal was to change their immune system and make them tolerant to the foreign material.  The next step was to see if this change could be inherited.  The animals were bred and the offspring tested.  They found that up to 40 per cent showed the same immune tolerance.  Was this proof that could finally silence Ted Steele’s critics?”

R.G.  “You never really anticipate that you are going to come across an audience that’s prejudiced against the data. And it’s because if you start with this preconception, that x could never leave the y no matter what, I don’t give a toss, x never leaves the y, and then someone shows you, here is x and I got y from it, your only reaction is, you baastard, you made the numbers up, ha, ha.  And that’s been the reaction all along.” 

Com.  “To win independent support for his controversial theory, Ted forwarded copies of the manuscript to some of the world’s most prominent scientists, including science philosopher, Karl Popper.  If this group found flows in Ted’s manuscript, his theory would be dead.”

T.S. “Here is a letter dated from Karl Popper, the 8th of February 1979. 

“My impression is that your work is one of the most important I have ever read.  It is a real breakthrough.  It is the first serious attempt, as fas as I know, to break through the Wiseman’s barrier. 

My sincere congratulations, and my admiration!  Yours sincerely,  Karl Popper.”

“Well, what does that do to a young man, a young scientist who had just formulated a theory?

I was on the right track. I may not be heading completely in the right direction, or discover all the things I think I am going to discover, but I am doing something that is important.”

Com. “With Popper’s encouragement Ted Steele had his manuscript published.  But for a young scientist, at the start of his career, to openly embrace Lamarck, was asking for trouble.                     

A. C. “Ted didn’t look for safety. He looked, err, he looked for somewhere he could make a mark.  And I think he probably found it.”

Com.  “Ted was convinced he could cross the Wiseman barrier, even though the main stream science it remained impenetrable.”

T.S.  “The Wiseman barrier, you don’t take it on lightly.  And there are no survivors; every one who had taken it on had never survived.  They had virtually been wiped out of science.   Well, in a strange sort of way that was a perverse challenge to me.  I said, look, it is so obviously permeable, how could someone get killed trying, trying to cross it, ha, ha, ha.”

Com. “Ted’s paper was published in the prestigious journal of the National Academy of Science.  Word spread that there was now strong evidence for the inheritance of acquired immunity.  Ted and Reg were invited on a lecture tour of Europe.  Still, doubts persisted.

Prof. Leslie Brent, Immunologist.  “I was very interested in that paper, but at the same time I was very sceptical about that data because they were, they claimed to have done something which we have failed to do many years before, in 1953 when we worked with (?) Torents.”

Com.  “Leslie Brent had worked years earlier with pioneer immunologist, Sir Peter Medawar.  They too had looked for evidence of the inheritance of acquired immunity.  Despite reservations, Medawar invited Ted Steele to work in his laboratory.”

T.S.  “Well, for me, looking for a job, in desperation to leave Toronto, because I did not have a job there, it was an honour to actually go to Medawar’s lab, and have that team repeat what we were doing.”

Sir John Maddox, Radio Presenter, Editor “Nature” 1980 – 95.  “Prof. Medawar was a very unusual person.  He was obviously brilliant, but he was also very arrogant, very sure of himself, very sure of his ideas.  And, it’s more than he was unable to suffer fools gladly.  He actually used to seek them out, and push them out in a, in a very haughty fashion.”

Com.  “For six months, prior to his arrival in London, Ted Steele had been advising Medawar’s team on how to reproduce his Toronto experiment.  He believed he had proved beyond doubt that an acquired immune tolerance could be inherited. But when he arrived in London, full of hope in April 1980, the news was not good.”

Dr. Arno Mullbacher, Researcher.   “As I recall, umm, I mentioned to Ted, that so far they have been unable to reproduce the experiments.”

T.S.  “I looked at him, I said, I want to have a look at the data.  ‘Well, no, no, nothing in it.’  I said, well tell me, how is it, I want to have a look at it.  I got the data books, and to my horror, there was striking difference.”

Com. “When Ted replotted their data, he reached a completely different conclusion.  He found that just as in the Toronto experiment, some mice had inherited immune tolerance.  According to Ted, Medawar’s team had misread the data.  Tempers flared, but they did agree to repeat the experiments.  This only made matters worse.”

T.S.  “It was here that the controversy really erupted.  I personally, in my own interpretation of their data, didn’t believe that they were contradictory; and that was the essence of the, of the ‘violence’ if you like, of the controversy, because it was fundamental disagreement over what were valid results and over what were not.”

Com. “In 1981, the BBC reported on a bitter stalemate over the bone marrow experiment.”

Prof. Leslie Brent.  “We have gone to a fair amount of trouble to repeat this data, and we have done this using through a very great extent the methods described by Gorczynski and Steele, and I can’t say that the results have been uniformly negative.”

Com.  “Steele strongly disagreed.”

T.S.  “At the moment, the results are a mixed bag.  In some of the experimental strategies we’ve seen some positive results.  In some of the others, the question is clouded and left open by the fact that there are severe technical problems in some of the test systems.”

Com.  “To settle the dispute, an alternative test was conducted without Ted’s involvement.  This time, the Medawar team looked for inherited tolerance to skin grafts.  It all came to a head on a radio debate between Ted Steele and Leslie Bret, chaired by John Maddox.”

J. M.  “It was an extraordinary interview.  Broadly speaking, the two people who had tried to repeat the experiment described how they have failed to get the same result.”                   

T.S.  “What they hadn’t realised was that the night before I saw the table, saw the analysis, saw the solution, worked all night, got it put it up on big sheets of wrap paper, pasted it together, and at the critical moment during this round table with John Maddox when they were going to have my head on the chopping block I went like this, and I flashed this, hah, large graph out.”    

Com.  “Ted suddenly said, look I’ve actually reworked Brent’s skin graft data; I’ve reworked the statistical analysis, and far from proving me wrong it’s actually supporting my case.”

T. S. “I said, look at it, there is actually your data, hah, hah.  Well, Brent just rocked back on his chair and said, ‘Oh, no’.  Maddox was swallowing his cigarette.”

J.M.  “This was the bombshell that literally brought the proceedings to a halt.”

“It was well known to us, and should have been well known to him as well, that male mice and female mice react slightly differently to skin graft from another strain.  And he lumped them all together, and as result he came up with a markedly statistically significant difference.  Although I explained to him why I thought his analysis was mistaken, he published the rewrite data under the heading, Lamarck and inheritance, a conflict resolved.”  (Three articles shown on screen with the following titles: “Lamarck and immunity, a conflict resolved”, “Research disputes theory of evolution”, and “Researchers give Darwin a 2nd look”. 

Com.  “Eventually, even the international press picked up on the conflict.  A public brawl amongst scientists of the highest repute was big news.”  (Another article with the following title was flashed on the screen: “Monkeying with the theory of evolution”).  Clearly it would continue so long as Ted remained in Medawar’s lap.”  (Another article was flashed on the screen with the title: “The Bad Boy Of Biology”).

Ted Steele smiling:  “I ended up with just a stool, a lap stool, I had no office, everything was taken off me.  I was a real pariah.  I was just sitting on the stool smoking a cigarette, ha, ha.”

Dr. Arno Mullbacher, Researcher:  “Atmosphere became so bad in the lab that Medawar really had no choice. I mean, it would have been totally irresponsible for Medawar to keep Ted for another year.”

“I think it not a bit surprising that Ted and Medawar fell out.  And Ted was the one who had to leave.”

Com. “For Steele in London it was the end of the line.  Was he the victim of prejudice against Lamarckism, or his theory simply not stack up?  He was about to join the ranks of others who have found themselves on the scrap heap of science history.  One such scientist was Paul Camera.  In the 1920s he attempted to prove Lamarckian inheritance.   After being accused of fraud, he committed suicide.” (Agricultural scenes from the former Soviet Union.  Subtitles:  The seeds of this wheat . . . will increase the yield . . . by twenty per cent.)

Com.  “Not long after, even more dismal failure unfolded in Soviet Russia.  Agronomist Trofim Lysenco, attempted to use Lamarckian ideas to bust the country’s food supply.  It was science driven by ideology: the Marxist belief that just as the State could mould society, the environment could be used to genetically improve crops.  Those who disagreed were either killed or sent to the Gulag.”

Prof. Steven Jones, Science Historian:  Lysenko was really a terrifying moment in the history of science.  And it again it shows very much the results of thinking that science is driven by human desires, or by divine desires, which Lamarck felt to an extent.  Stalin himself was strongly of the feeling that, if you were a Marxist, everything was in the environment. 

Lysenko claimed to have done experiments where he took plants from warm climates, he took them to a cold climate, grew them for one generation and then their offspring were able to withstand the cold climate.  And if that were true, that would be fantastic, because then you could grow wheat in Siberia, was the claim.” 

Com.  “Stalin appointed Lysenko to President of the Academy of Agricultural Science.  But Lysenko’s methods resulted in a catastrophic failure of Soviet agriculture. Lamarckism was dead.    

S. J.  “The fact that Ted Steele jumped into what historically has been a swamp, is a very brave thing to have done.  But the trouble with swamps is that they tend to suck people in, and they sink without trace.”

Com.  “In 1981, Ted Steele was rejected from the prestigious corridors of European science.  He was left with no option. He returned home to Australia. 

A former colleague, Robert Blanden made contact.  The two men had met years before at the John Curtain School of Medical Research in Canberra.   Over the years, Blanden had followed Ted’s progress from a distance.  Now he threw him a lifeline.”

T.S.  “At the pits of my despair after the battles in England with Medawar and his group it was clear I was unemployable.  And Bob arranged through Professor Pit Morrison at the John Curtain School of Medical Research, a research fellow’s position in the Department of Immunology.   And it was through Bob’s intense lobbying and convincing Bead that he was doing the right thing, that I got a job.”

Prof. Bob Blanden, Molecular &Cellular Immunologist.  “In offering Ted the job, he wrote a letter in which he said, I am offering you this job, you know, and I know you were the best candidate, but I don’t want you to work on that Lamarckian stuff, hah, ha.”

T. S. “I said, what?  He said, ‘that’s what you are signing off on when you signed that letter when you, you promised not, not to do them.  And I said, uh . . . I never said, uh . . . and he said, Ted, just be pragmatic, get back to Australia, get on with science and you are back on the payroll.”

R. B.  “Ted took no notice of it, and immediately got to work on Lamarckian stuff, as soon as he got back.”

Com.  “The disappointments of London, forced Ted to re-evaluate his experimental approach.  If Lamarckian inheritance really existed, he had to show how it worked in the body.   He knew that within cells, genes are routinely duplicated; he also knew that duplicate genes can be parried around the body by harmless retroviruses.  The question was, could mutated body genes be carried into the testes and inserted into the reproductive cells?  To find out, Ted now had to work at the genetic level.”

R. B. “It was inevitable that if Ted wanted to, to discover more about the processes he was interested in, he had to go to molecular immunology, and do gene sequencing.”

Com.  “In 1984, Ted accepted an appointment at Wollongong University.  He started hunting for genes in mice that he could track from body cells to reproductive cells.  Mice have around 60 000 genes.  In this tangle of DNA, how could he possibly identify a specific gene sequence to follow across Wiseman’s barrier?   The odds seemed overwhelming, but he finally found the pattern he was looking for.  He observed in the offspring the same genetic mutation pattern he had seen in the cells of the parent.  For Ted, the only explanation was that the genes had crossed Wiseman’s barrier.”

 ABC TV News shot (December 1994), ‘GENETIC LEAP’ headline.  Presenter: “Updating Darwin.  New genetic research suggests parents may pass on more to their children than previously thought.  The findings suggest that changes to the body’s immune system over our lives can actually be passed on to the next generation.  If true, they represent a radical shake up in our understanding of evolution.”

Com. “When Bob Blanden saw this extraordinary new evidence he was initially sceptical.  He searched for alternative explanations.   But finally, he resolved that the inheritance of acquired characteristics was at work.”

R. B.  “It became clear the further you went into it that the Darwinian position was untenable.  That it did make sense. By then I became convinced that Ted was probably right.  Ever since then, the two of us have been looking for other tests for the proposition.  And that is what we are doing now.

There is no question these things happen. And for people to exclude it from the paradigm of evolutionary biology is beyond me. You know, how can they do that is, frankly, I think it is just stupid. And then they are not up to date”

Caption: September 1998                

Com. “Then a publisher expressed interest in their controversial research.  The result was ‘Lamarck’s Signature’.  It encapsulated 20 years of work, and reignited the Lamarckian debate.”

ABC TV debate:  Presenter:  “Robert Blanden let’s start with you.  Ted Steele has been battling the scientific establishment on this for 20 years.  If you are right, how come all the scientists say you are wrong?” 

R.B.  “Well, I don’t think they all do.  It’s a matter of looking at the evidence. That evidence is published, and it is now a matter for anyone with a better interpretation to publish that interpretation and argue why it is better than the one that we’ve made.” 

Presenter:  “What do you say,  Niles Eldridge,   you’ve uh. . . the world of science is full of people who have poured scorn on this theory?”

Dr. Niles Eldredge,  American Museum of Natural History.  “Well, we are looking for the truth here. I think the most fundamental exciting possibility here is that we are going to learn some more, systematically learn some more about the Wiseman’s barrier, we are going to learn more about actually the particulars of how inheritance actually works. So I think that is extremely exciting.” 

Com. “So far, Ted and Bob had strong circumstantial evidence for acquired inheritance.  But they both new, the actual proof was to observe the gene as it made its journey across Wiseman’s barrier.  Then an American team published a paper that provided a key piece of the puzzle.  They had discovered the role of a particular enzyme in gene mutation.  This could enable Ted’s team to identify specific mutation patterns that they could then track as they cross the barrier.  Ted and Bob immediately contacted the Americans.”

T. S. “The timing of this paper on the verge of the overseas trip, some of the people involved, is just, well, it couldn’t be better.”

Com. “Meanwhile, publication of ‘Lamarck’s Signature’ abroad, had catapulted the Lamarckian debate on to the global stage. Ted was invited to do a promotional tour of Britain.”

T.S.  “Well, I am remarkably relaxed, actually.  I suppose it is because I am thoroughly prepared, and the story we are going to tell now over in the UK is very coherent, the data very solid, and I have no fears.  For the first time in my life, I feel the “mini master of the universe”. 

Caption: London, March 1999

Com. Ted’s presence in Britain almost 20 years after his public clash with Peter Medawar’s team, had not gone unnoticed.”

Radio commentator interviewing Ted Steele in the studio: This is putting you up again to be knocked down by the so-called scientific establishment who threw you out of this country 18 years ago.” 

T.S.  “Yes!”

Radio Com.  “So basically you are here to rub their noses in, aren’t you?”

T.S.  ‘Well, I sup . . .”

Radio Com.  “Yes, you are.”

T.S.  “Ha, ha, ha.”

Com.  “Until now Ted’s new book had not been seriously challenged.  The night before the national radio debate, Ted voiced his concerns to Bob.  He was about to face prominent evolutionary geneticist, and strong critic, Gabriel Dober. 

T.S.  “I am expecting the worst with this guy.  He, he’s originally from Oxford, but it has now recently taken over chair at Leicester.  In our books he is a potentially, you know, a red rug to a bull.”

Prof. Gabriel Dover, Evolutionary Geneticist.   “Not only is his theoretical premise a howler, because he has not understood natural selection; you have to understand your enemy, that’s the first thing.   He has not understood how natural selection works.  But he can’t give the evidence; he hasn’t got the basic piece of evidence of how you get from the body cell into the sex cell.”

Pause. Different scene.

T.S. eating.   “It is going to be fast, fast and furious for five minutes.  I’ve just got to make sure I get the emphasis of the main message of ‘Lamarck’s Signature’ over.  That main message is that Lamarck’s signature is written all over our genes.   I’ve got to get that message up.”

BBC studios.

Martin Redfern, Science Producer BBC Radio.  “Of course I remember Ted Steele actually when he was in England in the early 1980s and we did a broadcast with him, and he seemed to be a heretic then, he seems to be a heretic still, but he reckons that he’s got the evidence to back that up now, and that is what I am interested to hear.”

Radio Com.  “So, Professor Steele, I thought that Lamarck’s theories had been disproved by quite simple experiments, for example if you, err, people have cut off the mouse tails, didn’t they, and found that the young of the mice have had tails, ha, ha.”  

T.S.  “Well, those sort of experiments aren’t exactly the sort of experiments where the animal actively adapts and acquires a characteristic (?). You know, but August Wiseman, who was the man who probably had (?) these experiments, if he only realised or remembered that the Jewish custom of removing foreskins had never resulted in a Jewish babe without a foreskin, they probably wouldn’t even have started the experiments.”     

Radio Com.  “Professor Gabriel Dover, are you convinced?” 

G. D.  “No, I am not convinced. There is no evidence whatsoever that we can transfer information from the body cells to the germ line cells.”

Radio Com.  “Ted Steele, I suppose the big question is, have you proved your case, what new evidence is there in your book?”

T.S.  “Well, first of all can I say this that, if Professor Dover had understood, really understood, the evidence that we presented, he would never have said any of the things he has just said.  All of the evidence that we collected indicates that the imprint of that pattern of genetic change in the circulating white blood cells is imprinted on the, on the germ line genes.”

Radio Com.  “So, Professor Dover, you have not read the book properly, he says.”

G.D. “I have read the book thoroughly; and 20 years ago Ted Steele said the same thing.  And 20 years later, we are still waiting for the evidence.  There are 280 pages in this book, and all the way through he talks about ‘things have appeared to pass from the body cells to the sex cells’. I mean it could be a very nice hypothesis, but to announce to the world that, that it is now proven is simply misinformation.”

T.S.  “Well, I have to come in and emphatically point out to Professor Dover that he is completely wrong with his, with his ideas with the antibody genes of the immune system aren’t the same as any other genes.  It is precisely because they are unique in that respect that we actually tell that the information moves from the one to the other.  So he has to go back and read the book and understand that these genes are not sort of genes that he studies, they are antibodies genes.  And they follow very different rules.”

Radio Com. “You will have to carry on that argument outside of the studio (. . .) Thank you very much!”          

Com.  “Steele didn’t believe Dover had understood the complexities of the science, but he could not escaped Dover’s point that he still had no hard evidence of how genes are physically transported to the sex cells.  Would this response affect Ted’s standing with his Australian colleagues?”

 

Caption:  Canberra, Australia

 

T. S. “Good day, Bob! How are you going?  Long time no see!”

R. B. “That’s right! 

T.S.  “Anyway, what’s been, what’s been happening mate? What’s happened to that little purple book that is supposed to be a little seller?”

R.B.  “I’ve just asked to look at the amazon.com to see what’s . . .”

T.S.  “Well, I’ll tell you, I went to amazon.com in the UK yesterday.”

R.B. “O, yeah!”

T.S.  “After Robyn alerted me to it.  And there is a little review of our book. This was last Thursday, a week and a half after I left. ‘A week book, that fails to substantiate its claims.’  That’s the title! (smiles).

R.B. “Hah, ha, ha.”   

T.S. “This book is too much a work of advocacy to be taken at face value.  The reader has little idea whether all the facts are given, and whether they are given objectively.  Where detail is needed, it is not given. And where counter arguments should have been discussed, they are not.  I was not convinced that they had much of an argument.”  

R.B.  “Well, it’s a garbage review.”

T.S.  “But you know, I could see it in their eyes when I was there.  That was the un-stated subtext, in many encounters,”

Com. “Despite their bravado, Ted and Bob have failed to sway opinion at the highest levels.  They were now desperately in need of funds to continue their research.  They pinned their hopes with a well-financed American team.”

T. S. Looking at a photo.  “So, so there is the . . . these are key people I met in Augusta, Georgia. That’s Brendan Marshall; he is our key collaborator now in the United States. We got a potentially viable long-term collaboration, a new player in the game. 

R.B.  “The new generation team; that’s what it’s going to take.  The old players aren’t going to want to hear about this, but you will get guys like Brendan, haven’t been in the field before, they will come in, open mind, and they will want to know how this works; and they will change the field over time.”

Com.  “In Australia, Andrew Franklin was one of the new generation of scientists joining Ted and Bob’s team.  His job was to prepare gene samples for the Americans. He was well aware of the controversy surrounding Ted’s theory, and the effect it could have on his career.”

Andrew Franklin, Ph. D. student.  “We are asking an interesting question, and are attempting to answer that question in a rigorous and scientific manner.   My opinion is that let the cards fall as they will; I want to see whether it is true or not.  Instead of discussing it anymore, let’s do the science.”

Com.  “Then Professor Bob Blanden received an unexpected external academic review.   His seven years collaboration with Ted had attracted serious censure.”

T.S. “Maybe you can give us a proceed (?) of what is going on.”

R.B.  “Well they are mainly bull . . .  err . . . the general thrust was that, uh, I am a distinguished and senior immunologist with an international reputation.  And that I did a lot of great work a long time ago, but ever since I started working with you is all bull . . . I mean, it is clear that Steele is the, the bogey out there; and they seem to have a mixture and revulsion and astonishment that I have been dopey enough to actually collaborate with you.  The fact of the matter is that, I think that what we have done in the last ten years is the best science I have ever done.”

Com.  “In spite of the review, Bob was allowed to continue his work at the John Curtain School of Medical Research.  However, Ted found himself in even bigger trouble; trouble that threaten to end his 25-year quest to prove acquired inheritance.  Ted had accused the University of Wollongong of soft marking, claiming the University had upgraded the marks he had given two of his students.”

T. S. in front of computer.   “Err, this is having to go to the media, so I am going to pop this out now to the media. Off she goes, . . . there it goes, down to the blue and yonder.”

Com. “After Ted had alerted the press, the University threatened disciplinary action.  The controversy drew national, then international attention.”

Newspaper headline articles on the screen: “Uni whistleblower won’t recant.  Refusal to budge over allegations of grade-doctoring.”    “Steele decides to say no more. But no back down, he says.”   “Secret paths to higher education.”    

Caption: February 2001.

T.S. walking outside the University:   “Obviously, the letter last night was summary dismissal from the University of Wollongong.   And, . . . as you might imagine, that’s caused turmoil in my life.  I didn’t expect it to come to this.”

Ted Steele on the telephone:  “Now Bob, the issue here, my office, my office computer has all the germ line data on (?), so we’ve got to get that somehow.”

Com. “The University allowed Ted back on campus; to clear out his office.”

T.S. In front of his office:  “They’ve changed the lock.”

Media people taking photos.  

Com.  “However with the media presence, he was told to come back later.  His years of data was still out of reach.”

T.S. “I have to come back on Monday. But I did get the following: I managed to get the zip disk which contains all the human genome data that I need. I’ve got all the rest at home in the other computer.  Even of I get, . . . even if I get locked out now, I can still function; it’s on that disk.”

Com. “Ted now had to work from home. Meanwhile he embarked on a Federal Court challenge against his University.  With his data retrieved, he was finally able to refocus on his research.

A world away, an Italian scientist had made an extraordinary discovery that seemed to support Ted’s theory. It was the work of a Reproductive Geneticist, named Corrado Spadafora.”

Magazine cover on screen:  “Cell”, Volume 57, Number 5, June 1989.

Com. “In a story not unlike Ted’s, Corrado had made a splash in the scientific press with his claim that sperm are able to absorb foreign genetic material.”  (Scenes form Corrado’s laboratory) 

Com.  “When other researchers couldn’t get the same result, Corrado was asked to retract his findings.  He refused.  It was two years before he was vindicated.       

 Caption: “Dr. Corrado Spadafora, Reproductive Geneticist.” He is shown in his lab talking with members of his staff in Italian. 

Com.  “Now, Corrado has accumulated even more evidence.  He has shown that sperm can absorb foreign genetic material in a variety of animals.”

Dr. Corrado Spadafora, looking at some negatives and speaking in English.  “So you see, there are two positive animals; this one here, and weakly, this one here.  That, that’s a very good result, yeah!”

Com. “In 2001, Ted made the decision to visit Spadafora in Rome.  Ted had discovered that there was common link between the works of the American team and that of Corrado Spadafora.  The Americans had found that a particular enzyme was involved in the formation of new characteristics.  Recently, Corrado Spadafora had shown that this enzyme also assisted in the process of getting foreign genetic material into the offspring.  Had Wiseman’s barrier been crossed?”

Scene: Corrado Spadafora and Ted Steele in his office looking at some pictures.

T.S.  “The Wiseman barrier, in inverted commas, may be a complex thing at various levels, and it may be that you can get staffed over, but then the critical act is getting it integrated.  But this may be a new mode of inheritance you have discovered of course.”

C. S.  “Add the DNA to the sperm, the DNA get transferred.”

T.S. “Yeah, this is mind blowing, actually.”  

C. S. “I don’t want to say too much.”

T.S.  “Well, you see, it’s even surprising me.”

C.S. “That’s bad science!”

General laughter.  Next scenes Spadafora and Steele visiting places in Rome.

T.S. “The main point is that all novel things in science are never going to get mass support; there is not going to be any mass movement supporting a, a novel thing.”

C.S.  “When something is obvious, then it gets a lot of support.”

T.S. “Yes!  During the phase that is not obvious, and when the problems are difficult, and the goals are big goals and the steps are difficult to take, that’s when you need funding.” 

C. S. “Yeah, I mean somebody should decide to fund the, the err (?) research.”    

T.S. “Yes!  But who?”

C. S. “I don’t know.  (Laughter).

T.S.  “Visiting Corrado Spadafora probably exceeded my expectations.  I found his science extremely exciting. All those things that he is doing, dovetail nicely with our own program.  If we can sort of meet up in the middle somewhere that would be a real challenge. So when I get back, you know, with Andrew and Bob, I will brief them on all of this and we’ll see just what we can do.”    

Com. “But just as they were negotiating a partnership with Spadafora, bad news arrived from their American collaborators.  Key support for research that could help them identify and track mutations patterns, had been withdrawn.”

T.S.  “Well the word is that the head of the lab wanted  (?)  the full cost to be paid to do all the necessary analysis on the chips. If that’s the case, there is no point in proceeding out there, but to get it back to Australia. It’s a bit disappointing, because this was going to be an important collaboration.”

R.B. “That’s it, I mean, that’s just not good enough. Is it? (Expletives deleted). Pardon my French.  Andrew’s worked his guts out, and developed very careful protocols to get this staff to Brendan, and he delivers it and Brendan does not come through.  That’s not Brendan’s fault.”

T.S. “No, it’s not Brendan’s.”

R.B. “That’s outrageous!”

Andrew Franklin on the telephone.  “Can I speak to Brendan Marshall, please?  This is Andrew Franklin calling from Canberra.  Oh, no, not so good since I got your emails. Umm, look I’ll cut the chase, I’ve discussed this with Bob and Ted, and the decision has been made that we’d like to have the CD right (?) back. OK, thank you very much. Thank you, bye, bye!”

R.B. “OK. That’s that.”

A.F.  “This is the first time that’s happened to me in my science career.  It probably won’t be the last so . . . ah, it’s an unfortunate situation, and I don’t think that there is anyone specifically to blame for the way it’s turned out.  I think we need to just move on and get on with the science.”

T.S. “That’s right, yeah.”

Caption:  March 2002.

Com. “Meanwhile, Ted’s year long challenge to the University of Wollongong, drew to a close.”

ABC TV news.  Background caption:  Appeal Rejected.  “And a win too for the outspoken Wollongong University academic Ted Steele.  The University has agreed to reinstate him after the full bench of the Federal Court dismissed an appeal by the University.

T.S.  “What they are not going to say is what they are going to do to me after they reinstate me. And that’s just what I’ve said I hope the University of Wollongong plays the game fairly with me.”

Com.  “Finally, the case was settled.  Ted was compensated for loss of work.  In exchange, he agreed to give up his position at the University.  Without a laboratory, Ted was now completely reliant on Bob.  He (?) to keep going.  A collaboration with Corrado Spadafora was now more important than ever.     In addition, Bob Blanden was due to retire in less than two years.  They needed to work fast. More importantly, they needed to design the definitive experiment; a test that proved without a doubt that Lamarckian acquired inheritance does exist, at least in the immune system.  The plan was to create mutant antibody genes in a special strain of mice and attach a molecular tag to each gene.  For the first time, they hoped to track the entire journey of the tag genes from body cells all the way through to the next generation.  If all went well, they would record the plight of the genes, as they voyaged where theoretically no genes have gone before: across Wiseman’s barrier.  Just as the Australian team prepared the mice for the make or break experiment in Rome, 12 thousand kilometres away in California there was a revolutionary breakthrough.  DR Patrick Fogerty had inserted foreign genes into mice and then discovered that the DNA turned up in many of the animals’ cells, including eggs and sperm. But would this DNA end up in the offspring?”

Dr. Patrick Fogarthy, Molecular Biologist.  “We inject an animal, and that’s it.  Just like you go down and get a flue shot.  Umm, and what happened was, is we transferred this gene, umm, shown here into a whole variety of tissues that we analysed from this animal; from brain, to testes, to liver, to stomach, to everything.  Umm, not only did we see it in the injected animals, we looked at the offspring from that animal and, lo and behold, we found it coming out in large percentage of the offspring as well.  So it’s very Lamarckian in a way, because we take that animal and we not only change its functions and genotype, but it carries through and changes the whole offspring as well.”

Com. “Fogarthy’s experiment clearly demonstrated that acquired characteristics could be inherited in the laboratory.   Suddenly, everybody was talking about this new method of gene transfer, and its profound implications for genetic engineering, from transgenic farming to human gene therapy.  Amid all the fanfare, few seem to have noticed that the idea of Wiseman’s barrier had been violated, just as Ted Steele had predicted 25 years earlier.   Despite these key breakthroughs, Ted Steele continues to fight an uphill battle.  In the meantime, his ideas intrigued a growing number of scientists from a  range of disciplines all over the world.”

Ted Steele at the International Symposium of Applied Quantum Physics, Michigan.

“The other concept which we’ve been attempting to violate and show that there are exceptions to, is the Wiseman dogma (?).  I am going to spend a little bit of time, a few minutes, comparing the immune system with the brain. “

Dr.  Ken  Augustyn.  “Biologists are very classical in their thinking about how the world works. They think it’s a total machine and everything is totally predetermined.  Ted’s work basically says that there is more to genetics and there is more to heredity than just random mutations and recombinations. That there is actually some information fed back to, you know, from what happens in an organism’s life, there is some, some information that it’s fed back into the genes.”        

T.S. “If you’ve got a process where an organism can adjust and change during its life time, to influence its contemporary in the environment, whether it be food, predators, behaviour, and adjust the way it survives, and then pass on some of that survival adjustment to its progenies then you have an adaptive fitting between an organism and the environment. There is a direction to the evolutionary progress of organisms.”

Dr. Reg Gorczynski, Cell Biologist.  “It’s clearly a fundamentally very important concept; very important, perhaps the most important concept in terms of genetics of evolution.”

R.B.  “What people believe is that truth changes with time. As different results occur, the reigning paradigm has to get modified and adapted to the new data and the new interpretations.  And in my view, the Darwinian paradigm it’s way past its shelf life.”

K. A. “If his work is proven out over time, he will have really revolutionised biology. He will go down as the first who really made it happen; he and his group of collaborators.  So he could become a very very important figure in the history of science.” 

Com.  “Is it possible that genetic improvements in our life times can be passed on to our children?  If so, Ted’s team would have shattered Darwin’s theory of evolution to its very core, and forever altered our understanding of life on earth.”   End of the program. 

 

Now do you see anything in that account that might upset today’s evolutionists?  Unless you know the whole story behind this debate you may never suspect what the real problem is. 

There are two issues at work here. The first one has to do with the pillar on which Darwin’s evolution is based – the time element.  His evolutionary changes require long aeons of time, whereas Lamarck adaptations could take place within an organism’s lifetime.  So what is the problem with that? Well, that comes dangerously close to the biblical time scale, and that is something Darwinian evolutionists would never accept.  

The second issue has to do with the effect this could have on educational institutions and scientific establishments. Think of the textbooks that need revising, the museum exhibits that need rearranging, the handout leaflets and booklets that need reprinting, the lessons and lectures that need to be re-learned, the teachers and university lecturers that need to be re-educated, the destroyed reputation of those who staked their life on Darwin being right, etc.    We say ‘could’ because we don’t think it will.  The intent to obscure this phenomenal discovery can already be observed in the fact that the program was televised late at night, at 10 p.m., when few people would see it, and even fewer school age students might be made aware of it.  They could ask their teachers to explain again the difference between “proven” scientific fact and biblical “myth”, and we wouldn’t want to do that to our teachers, would we?    

The fierce debate between Darwinian and Lamarckian scientists has nothing to do with searching for, and revealing, truth, and everything to do with hiding it.  The weaknesses of Darwin’s theory have been known for a long time, long before Ted Steele and his collaborators buried him scientifically. But that did not prevent the anti-God, anti-creation lobby from infiltrating virtually every educational institution in the world and presenting that deception as a well established ‘scientific’ fact.  

Scientists have known for a long time that natural selection does not produce new species, only improved species.  A specie that fights to survive and adapts to a changed environment remains within the same specie; it does not transform itself into a new specie.

This is where Stephen Jay Gould, a famous evolutionary scientist who fought intense battles with creationist scientists, stepped in and proposed a new theory of evolution, the so-called ‘punctuated equilibrium’ or ‘hopeful monster’ theory.  According to him, only mutations can push evolution forward, and only if by chance major environmental conditions occur at the same time.

Mutations by themselves are harmful to individuals and lead to their demise. Similarly, changed environmental conditions by themselves do not produce new species, but a chance combination of the two, mutations and major, not minor, environmental changes at the same time, might favour the new ‘monster’ and lead to new species. But this also requires huge aeons of time; time that Lamarck and Ted Steele have proven is not necessary.  Encarta Encyclopedia says something very important about Gould’s work.

 

“Gould, Stephen Jay, American geologist, paleontologist, philosopher of science, and author of books on evolution and the fallacies of biological determinism. Born in New York, Gould earned his undergraduate degree from Antioch College (1963) and his doctorate from Columbia University (1967). He taught at Harvard University from 1967. Gould originated the “punctuated equilibrium” theory of evolution, a theory based on the fact that very few transitional forms are found in the fossil record.”

“Unlike the gradualist theory, which would have species evolve gradually over long periods of time, the punctuated equilibrium theory holds that the evolution of a species consists of rapid changes in small, relatively isolated populations, followed by long periods of stability. Gould became widely known for his monthly column “This View of Life” in Natural History.”

 

Gould admitted that the ‘transitional’ forms found in the fossil record are nowhere near what might be expected if Darwinian evolution were true.  What we find instead are always fully-fledged and fully functional species, never creatures that are half one specie and half another. 

It makes you pity the scientists who are trying to put together evidence that ‘proves’ Darwinian evolution.  Volumes have been written, and still are, about the hoaxes that have taken place in this field, but that did not prevent vested interests from inculcating this theory into the minds of all students that have passed through the grinding mills of our educational institutions. 

Alarming bells should have rung when Gould, and many other respected and well-renown scientists, rejected the notion that one specie can evolve into another by natural selection.  Gould admitted that creationist people had a point in saying that the fossil record does not support evolution, but could not accept the short time scale put forward by them. Why?  Because that brings reality too close to the Bible, and that could not be accepted. 

The Bible allows adaptations, but not the appearance of new species, and that is what the whole battle between Darwinian evolutionists and Ted Steele’s collaborators was all about.   

Now it is interesting to note that although Gould diverged just as radically from Darwin’s natural selection theory, Darwinian scientists did not haunt him as they did Ted Steele and his collaborators all over the world.  Why?  Because Gould retained the long eons of time that contradict the Bible!  The moral is, you can do any experiments you want, and put forward any theories you want, but don’t come anywhere near the Bible, because if you do you become an outcast even if you are a convinced evolutionist, as Ted Steele and his collaborators appear to be.   

 

 

 

 

 

  A Matter of Historical Truth Regarding the Holocaust

 

Much has been said about the terrible plight of the Jews during the Second World War at the hands of the Nazis. Images of emaciated people and piles of human remains – bones, hair, teeth, jewellery, etc. – are a witness to the human degradation and failure of the spirit into which humanity fell during those terrible years.  

Films about the Holocaust always held an important place in the school libraries in which I worked.  Many times I dropped a tear at the back of the classroom when showing such films to the students. Some films however were so gruesome we could not show them to the students.  For that reason I always sympathised with the Jews when they were outraged at the people who, in spite of all the evidence, they still deny that the Holocaust ever took place.  The fact that no document signed by Hitler authorising the extermination of the Jews has ever been found is no proof that the genocide did not occur. Nor can we accept the explanation put forward by some people that the devastation occurred in the last few days of the war when food was scarce for everybody let alone for camp inmates.  People die if they are subjected to a drastic reduction in food intake. You need a prolonged regime of starvation to reduce human beings to the level of living skeletons. 

Now it is a well-known fact that the Jews found refuge in some countries, Denmark, Holland, Sweden, being some of them, until the Nazis crossed over in the first two countries and forced the issue on their governments.  What is not so well known is that Romania was a safe place for Jews during the whole of the Second World War.     

It is a well-documented historical fact that General Antonescu, the virtual leader of Romania in those days, stood up to Hitler and refused to round up the Jews and sent them to the Nazi concentration camps. Now there is no doubt that had Germany won the war, Antonescu would have been forced to succumb to Hitler’s wishes too, but because Romania was a willing ally of Germany in the early days of the war, out of fear of the Soviets I may add, and because Germany needed Romania’s petrol, Hitler did not force the issue at that time.     

For that reason I was greatly surprised when I read with dismay recent accusations by some Jewish historians that far from being a safe place, Romania was supposedly a graveyard for some three quarters of a million of them.  I thought to myself, have these people discovered something that no one knew before?

This was an important matter for me because previously I had been very proud of the fact that my people had the courage to stand up to the Nazis and not participate in the carnage of innocent people that swept most of Europe in those days.  Besides, I grew up in southwest Romania near the city of Turnu Severin, where there were many Jews, with not a hint that they were ever persecuted. They were a highly educated class, owning many shops, and holding many respectable positions such as doctors, lawyers, teachers, etc.  

I remember very well how as a child at one time I was passing a building with my mother when we heard choir songs from the inside.  Very casually she told me that it was a Jewish synagogue.  Then she added that I must be careful not to join their religion because we are Orthodox and they are not, having rejected Christ. That was just about the only negative comment I ever heard about the Jews from my parents, never an inkling of persecution or hatred towards them. Neither was it evident among our relatives and neighbours. The Jews were simply not a topic of discussion among the people that I grew up with and were treated as any other persons. To us they were not foreigners, but Romanians of a different faith. Too bad that they were not Orthodox, because being Orthodox was a guarantee of holiness, and not being Orthodox was the worst fate that could befall any human being.  Well, that is what my parents thought anyway. But they never took that to the extreme of persecuting or speaking harshly about them. On the contrary, in my family, the word Jew meant quality. If you wanted to buy something of value, you went to a Jewish shop; if you wanted to see a good doctor, you went to a Jew; if you wanted a good lawyer, you went to a Jew, and so on. Hearing all these things, I could not help growing up with a certain degree of admiration for these people.  That is why I was so happy when I grew up and heard that Romania had not participated in the Jewish persecution, and so distressed when I heard the opposite.

So I set out to discover the truth, however painful that may be.  

I went to a couple of Jewish Synagogues in Sydney; to a Jewish library; I gathered information; I spoke to people; I read Jewish and other historical books, but the more I read and searched the more convinced I became that it was a baseless accusation, thrown by irresponsible people who had neither knowledge of history, nor proofs of what they were talking about.  Then a friend of mine told me that the Jewish Museum in Sydney had an exhibit which stated that General Antonescu had protected the Jews during the Second World War. We organised a visit together to that museum so that I could see it for myself.  But when we went there, no matter how much we looked and searched, we could no longer locate that exhibit anymore. Something had happened in the decade or so since my friend had seen it to cause it to disappear from the scene, but what?  Well, we could not tell what, but the fact that it coincided with the new vision of history by Jewish historians made us wonder. Could it have anything to do with the fact that the figure of six million killed in the Holocaust had come under serious question and the Jews need some new plugs into which to burry their dead? 

Earlier this year, a diplomatic row developed between Romania and Israel over this issue.  Romanian diplomats maintaining that no Jewish persecution had occurred in that country, while people in the Israeli government maintaining that some three quarters of a million of them had died in there.

Then unexpectedly, Australia’s national broadcaster, the ABC, provided the proof that the Jews had never been persecuted in Romania.  On June 5th, 2003, it presented a program entitled, True Stories: Outwitting Hitler, in which two Jewish Holocaust survivors described what they found in Romania in 1943.  Here is a transcript of the relevant passages from their story.  The program began with a large caption: ‘TRUE STORIES’. Then the image of a man appeared and a voice over said:  “Marian Pretzel is a Holocaust survivor”.

Marian Pretzel:  “The Germans and Ukrainians came and took my parents away.”

Commentator: “He is haunted by troubling questions”

M.P. “Did my parents have to die so that I could survive?”

Com. At a time when having the right papers meant the difference between life and death . . .”

Another person intervenes: “Without the identity document you could be shot”.

Com. “At a time when faith made you an endangered specie.”

M.P. “It was a carnage, unimaginable.”

Com. “At a time when the entire world was at war.”

Janek Fuchs:  “It was terrible, it was death in the air, not only for the Jews, for everybody.”

Com. “He used his skills as an artist to forge Nazi documents.”

M.P. “I found the key to survival.”

Com. “And found himself sleeping with the enemy.”

M.P. “The places that I should fear most were the safest – the lion’s den.”

Then finally we had the title of the program: “Outwitting Hitler”, followed by images from Hitler’s Reich, and the experiences of the two protagonists, Marian Pretzel and Janek Fuchs. About three quarters through the program, we come to the relevant comments.  

Commentator: “By the end of 1943, the Soviets had the Nazis on the run.  Marian and Janek made their way to Bucharest, Romania, and found a world they thought no longer existed.

Caption: Janek Fuchs, Holocaust survivor.  “For me, Bucharest was like, like arriving to paradise.  Because you have to realise that at that time the steppes of Russia, or the cities of Russia especially after the winter, there was smashed everything, there was terrible, it was, it was death in the air not only for the Jews for everybody. It was hell on hereafter.  And here you came to a country, when the train moved into Bucharest, that you have farmers coming, peasants are coming to the window of the train with chicken and with white bread which we haven’t seen for ages.”                       

M.P. “It was unbelievable, the way you looked at the people walking down the streets, the young girls in the beautiful flowers dresses, the men exceptionally well dressed, everybody happy and gay.”

J.F. “You have shops with signs, Moscovitchi, Haimovitchi, typically Jewish names, and, and for me I thought it can’t be that there are still Jews existing here.”

M.P.  “It was indecent that they lived like that. But that was not indecent, it was what we left behind.”

Com. “Two desperate parents convinced Marian and Janek to travel back into occupied territory to rescue their daughter Helen from the Budapest ghetto.  They succeeded, but why did they take such a risk?”

M.P. “I don’t know, you remember, you were the one who wanted to go. I said, don’t be stupid.”

 “You said, common, common, let’s prove it that we could be the masters once more.”          

J.F.  “That’s right, hah, that’s right.”

M.P. “I said, but that’s crazy.  Actually what happened, what made me change my mind when you wanted to go, when I had a look at the photograph of Helen she looked so much like my sister. About the same age, you know, the mother pleading and I said, for goodness sake I couldn’t save my sister, maybe I can save Helen.”

J.F. “We had been their only hope, because it could never come out if we didn’t go for her at that time.”  

The program went on tracing their steps in Budapest. Then the commentator added:  “Adolf Hitler committed suicide in April 30th 1945. Fifty million people died in the war he started, including six million Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust. Marian Pretzel and Janek Fuchs finally made it to freedom. In 1999 the two old friends reunited in Israel to socialize, philosophise, and reminisce.”  The program continued with a few more scenes from the land of Israel.  From the credits we note producers Steven Beal and Christopher Ward, and narrator Ralph Gunderman. Acknowledgements were made to a long list of archives, including The National Centre for Jewish Films, Simon Wiesenthal Centre, Sydney Jewish Museum, and others.

Now could a country that was described by two Holocaust survivors as ‘paradise’ in 1943 also be the graveyard for three quarters of a million of them at the same time?  They had shops with Jewish names in Bucharest; were well dressed, happy and gay like everybody else, with not a hint of persecution, let alone widespread genocide. 

Shortly afterwards, Romania changed sides and joined the Soviet forces in pushing the Germans out of the country. So if Jewish persecution had not occurred until then, it could not have occurred afterwards either. 

If there was any persecution of the Jews in Romania, Marian Pretzel and Janek Fuchs have not heard about it.  The program was made in 2001, so they had time to ponder and change their story if there was any truth to it. Besides, three quarters of a million would have been an unusually large numbers of Jews in a country the size of Romania at that time.   Jewish revisionist historians ought to investigate their facts better, and be more careful in throwing unjustified aspersions on people right left and centre just because they need to fill in a number that perhaps should not have been there in the first place.  History has a way of bringing truth to the surface eventually. As Jesus Christ said:

 

Mat 10:26  "Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and

Mat 10:27  hidden that will not be known. "Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops.  "And do not fear those who kill the body,

Mat 10:28  but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

 

 

 

 

 Romania’s ‘Original Democracy’ Revisited

 

In the aftermath of Ceausescu fall in 1989, the new leader, Ion Iliescu, promised the people of Romania that he would deliver to them not democracy western style, but ‘original democracy’.  No one quite knew what he meant by that, but fourteen years later, with him still in power, we have glimpses of his ‘original democracy’ in action.    

Not long ago, we received a Bible League newsletter, which told us about the problems its missionaries encountered in places like India, Romania, North Korea, Palestine, Kyrgyzstan, and other places.  Having grown up in Romania, I was particularly interested in what it had to say about that country.  So this is their story.  

 

“They threatened his life and the lives of his family. They’ve destroyed Project Philip Bible study booklets. They’ve smashed his car window with steel rods. Still faithful to the Lord’s call in his life, yet fearful for the safety of his family, Bible League-trained church planter Emanuel Buliga has temporarily suspended his ministry in Vasilati, Romania.

His oppressors?  Local Romanian Orthodox priests.  

And these priests have more than Emanuel in their sights.  People in the town who are attending Bible studies are also targets of persecution.

Priests have driven Bible study members from every meeting place they have gathered at, damaging villager’s cars and warning school children that they will be failed if their families continue to attend Bible studies.  Priests have also threatened to not bury dead family members.  The intimidation has succeeded. Thirty people once gathered for Bible studies when Emanuel first arrived in Vasilati a little more than a year ago. Today there are none.

“I trust that the Lord is in control,” says Emanuel, his voice tinged with sadness. “I’m praying that God will lead me to another village. But I’m also asking Him to soften the hearts of the priests here. People in Vasilati need to know Jesus.”  (Bible League Report, June 2003).

 

Now in order to understand the behaviour of those Orthodox priests we must go back to certain events that happened in Romanian exile communities two and three decades ago.

People were yearning for a church in their midst, but had no where to turn to get a priest.   Reluctantly, they addressed the leadership of the Romanian Orthodox Church in Bucharest.  Sure enough, they were only too happy to oblige, sending them as many priests as they wanted. Before long just about every Romanian community in exile, small and large, had its own church.  Since the priests’ stipends were also being paid from Romania, there was joy all around.  It did not take them long, however, before people realised that they got a lot more than they bargained for.  

Things were all right for a while, but then unusual events began to happen in their midst.  Instead of uniting people, these priests had an uncanny ability to disunite and set them against each other.  Those who continued to speak evil of Ceausescu and his regime became outcasts from their own churches.  Before long, it became evident that those priests had learned their ‘gospel’ not in theological seminaries but in the halls of the Securitate.  Some people could swear that what they declared in the sanctity of confessionals made its way to authorities in Bucharest. 

Here in Sydney things got so bad at one time that people were worried that murder may occur in their midst if things continued like that for much longer.  In one famous incident, widely published in the media at that time, the Orthodox priest was shown standing on the church fence watching how his devotees were pummelling those whom he wanted out of the church.

He looked more like a general watching his troops in action.  This may not be far from truth, for rumour had it that he was in fact an officer of the Securitate, and had oversight over other ‘priests’ in Australia.   

I was working as broadcaster in Romanian language for a radio station that provided programs for ethnic communities in Australia at that time.  At the end of one program, I was met by a Romanian who told me that if I continued to speak against Ceausescu, I would end up with a bullet in my back.

I left that job shortly afterwards for other reasons, so I was spared the ‘bullet in my back’.  My mother in Romania however was not as lucky.  In 1990, only weeks after we published the first edition of The Christian Herald, I had an unusual experience here in Australia.  At one time, I felt a sharp pain in my chest as if someone had ripped something out of it. I did not know what it meant, but I had premonitions that it had to do with my mother.  A few days later I received a telephone call from a person in Romania, who would not identify himself, who told me that my mother had been assaulted by four individuals in her own home and left for dead.  He would not go into any further details. My mother lived for another three months in a semi conscious state and then died.  To this day no one has ever been prosecuted for that crime. 

Was it a mere coincidence that in that edition we discussed the events associated with the fall of communism, and showed how Ion Iliescu had betrayed the 1989 Revolution by restoring the Securitate, and reinstating to his position Patriarch Teoctist, who had resigned as head of the Romanian Orthodox Church, and gone into hiding immediately after the Revolution?  Hundreds of priests sent by Ceausescu to churches overseas, who had also resigned and gone into hiding, came out of their holes and demanded their positions back.  Another revolution was in the making, but one that nullified the effects of the first.

Like other counties, Romania too had embarked upon the road to democracy.  But unlike other countries, it was to be an “original democracy”.  No one quite knew what that meant at that time, but  we know now – a kind of communism in disguise. Not even communism with human face, for that nefarious institution – the Securitate – is still making ravages among Romanians, both in the country and in exile. There are people here in Sydney who swear that agents of the Securitate are still spying on them and sending information back to Romania.  They still want to know what everyone is doing in exile.  And no wonder, for the strongest expose of the chicaneries of the Bucharest regime comes from publications in exile. The problem for the Bucharest regime is that those publications are written in English and other languages which Western Governments can read.    

People in a position to know, have revealed to us that the secret services of Russia, Ukraine, Byelorussia, Moldova and Romania have been working covertly to establish a form of de-facto communism in those countries.  That is why the independent media has been under attack in all these countries.   

Not long ago, we sent some sensitive information to a major newspaper in Bucharest that claimed to speak for the opposition.  We asked them not to reveal its source.  Within five days we had repercussions from the Government.    

Earlier this year, I sent a letter to the Romanian Prime Minister informing him that people from a certain factory in Bucharest had sought our help on an important matter.  They were working for an Arab boss who was forcing them to work non-stop seven days a week.  The Arab had no pity on the ‘infidels’.  Their attempts to seek help from the Romanian authorities were unsuccessful because their boss kept bribing them and they did nothing.  Those who were known to complain lost their jobs.  So they worked and groaned in silence for years because no one would help them. 

While the rest of Europe negotiates to bring the working hours of its people to 35, in Romania they are struggling to come out of the dark ages.  We found it unbelievable that no labour unions, no governmental agencies, no church or media people would take up their case.  When we raised the issue with some local authorities when we were in Romania last year, they were incredulous that we would want to interfere with the ‘market economy’.  That is what they understand by ‘market economy’.   So we waited until we came back to Australia and then wrote to the Prime Minister, Adrian Nastase, informing him that if the working conditions of those people did not improve within thirty days, we would inform International Labour Organizations, the United Nations, and the European Parliament, and send TV crews to make another story about Romania like the one about the mistreated orphans that did the rounds in the world media in the aftermath of Ceausescu’s fall.  We received no reply from the Prime Minister, but those workers are now working six days a week.  However, I received a telephone call from a person living in another Australian State who said that he would come to see me because he had an important matter to discuss urgently with me.  He was none other than the one who had promised me a bullet in the back if I continued to speak against Ceausescu sixteen years earlier.  How he knew my address and telephone number after all that time and after three address changes, he would not tell me.  So we arranged a meeting, knowing that my time to be ‘perfected’ had not yet come, but he did not show up.  I could not ask him why either, because he did not leave us his telephone number or address.  I have no doubt that he, or one of his ilk, would show up one day to ‘discuss’ that ‘important matter’ with me.

It is amazing how every time I am criticising the Romanian regime I end up dealing with people who want to discuss ‘important matters’ with me.   It is also amazing how they know everything about me and my family from long distances.  Obviously someone cares about me and my well being from the shadows. 

In the second edition of The Christian Herald published in 1992, we had another article about Romania in which we told Ion Iliescu that we would not be intimidated, and that although he was able to touch my mother, he could not touch us before we finished this work.  Now that we are nearing its conclusion, he can touch us.  He can release his dogs to finish their work.  There is a reason why God Almighty kept him and his friend, Patriarch Teoctist, in power until now.  This is their chance to fulfil their destinies.   We just hope they have not forgotten about the epitaph for themselves and their people. 

When we re-published The Christian Heralds 1 & 2, in 2001, we left out the two articles about Romania.  We could not afford to endanger this work again before its time.  The two articles can now be obtained separately. 

For more than a decade after the fall of communism, I resisted the temptation to visit my homeland.  But last year, I succumbed to the urging of many people who assured me that I would be safe if I went back now.  So I went, and I have to admit that aside from a few occasions when I felt that I was being watched, I had no problems while there.  My troubles started again only after I returned to Australia and sent that letter to the Prime Minister.  My correspondence is now once again being interfered with.  Even a registered letter could not reach me.  When we started investigating what happened to it, it went back to the sender.  Money sent to some poor people in Romania, through the banks, could not be delivered either and came back to us.

When I visited my native village, I found the house in which I grew up in utter ruin.  It had been used by squatters who did what squatters do all over the world – destroy things.  Interestingly enough, everyone in the village seemed to know who had murdered my mother, except the authorities.   

After I returned to Australia, I asked the Romanian Consul to issue me with certain Romanian documents – passport, proof of citizenship, etc. – so that I could go back and claim my inheritance.  But after three attempts, I still have no reply.  It looks like once again I have become an “enemy of the people”.     

Since I left Romania thirty-six years ago, I had never renounced my Romanian citizenship.  Under Ceausescu’s regime there used to be a custom by which one could be freed from the obligations of Romanian citizenship by offering a certain amount of money to the Government.   Then he could go back as a foreign tourist as many times as he wanted.  The trade in, of course, was that the rates for foreign tourists were about five times higher than for natives who travelled  with Romanian documents.  When Ceausescu’s ambassador sent me a letter asking me to ‘settle’ my status with Romania, I replied that I had nothing to settle.  I was born Romanian, and Romanian I shall remain. 

I had left that country as a Radio Telegrapher Officer on a merchant ship in 1967, at the height of the Cold War, seeking political asylum in the West.  I wasn’t prepared to risk my life by going back even as a foreign tourist as long as that odious regime was still standing, knowing that the Securitate had long memories.  

I always retained a hope that that nefarious system would not last long, though I could not tell how, or when, it would come to an end.  Obviously no one could, for it took the whole world by surprise when the communist empire fell so abruptly.  Ceausescu’s regime fell like all the others, but unfortunately for Romania, Iliescu’s came in.

A United Nations report released earlier this year, placed Romania in the last place in Europe in every measurable criterion.   After the fall of communism, Romania and Bulgaria were considered to be at about the same level of development.  By now however, Bulgaria has shot well ahead of Romania in most fields, when given the resources, human and natural, of the two countries it should have been the other way around.  The difference being that Bulgaria has made great strides towards market economy and genuine democracy, having elected as Prime Minister a former king, whereas Romanian leaders have used every trick at their disposal to delay genuine marked reform and true democracy. 

In all other former communist countries, the Hydra of secret services was brought under control, except in Romania (and Russia).  Earlier this year, the Director of SRI (the renamed Securitate), declared that he would never open Securitate’s secret dossiers to the public even if the European Parliament demanded it when Romania joined the European Union. Charming institution!  It changed its name, but not its character.  Ceausescu’s spirit still hovers around.  One cannot even say that the wolf has changed its colour but not its habit, for clearly these people are not ashamed even of their habits let alone their colour. 

And what did President, Ion Iliescu, and Prime Minister, Adrian Nastase, do on hearing what the SRI Director had to say?  Remind him that in Romania like in all democracies it is the Parliament that decides laws and policies not the Director of the secret services?  No, not a word from them.  Well, we were so surprised by that!   We almost forgot that in Romania we do not deal with a democracy, but with ‘original democracy’.  

It is  a well known fact that communist regimes operated on the principle of impoverishing the people and keeping them in a state of perpetual poverty, and then giving them handouts so as to appear as their benefactors.  Is there any wonder that Romania is making such slow progress in improving its people’s standard of living!  

In normal democracies, the opposition is given breathing space and resources to function properly, the logic being that a strong opposition means a strong government, and a weak opposition means a lacklustre government.  But that does not apply in the ‘original democracy’ of Ion Iliescu. The government has done everything in its power to emaciate the opposition to a point of almost complete irrelevance.  Few people in the country believe that the opposition could form an effective government in the foreseeable future.  Polls show that the Social Democrats of Adrian Nastase will be returned to power by another landslide whenever he calls the election.  The Social Democrat is the party of the former communists.

When you have the church and the secret services in your hand, and when in the best tradition of totalitarianism a fifth of the population had been compromised by links to the odious Securitate and want to keep things muffled as long as possible, what else could you expect?  

It is not uncommon to find stories in the Romanian media about Orthodox priests who are actively involved in politics, urging their people to vote for the Social Democrats, because “they have governing experience and can improve their life, whereas the opposition cannot”.  The government itself is unashamedly using State apparatuses to influence election outcomes.  Clearly democracy means different things to different people. 

Most people have resigned themselves to the belief that if this government cannot get them out of the mire, no one else could.  And so, like an addict who cannot live without his potion, they keep bringing back their former oppressors, unable to see that only a radical change could make a difference in their lives. 

All other former communist countries made a speedy and smooth transition to a market economy, but not Romania.  In this country the government delayed privatisation as long as possible so that it could place its acolytes in cushy positions.  When it privatised anything, it was the unproductive and failing industries and factories. But investors were not fools. Few were interested in the dregs of a failing economy.  The result is that Romania lags far behind other former communist countries in foreign investment.  While the others are jumping ahead in leaps and bounds, Romania is merely limping along.

Instead of revitalising the economy by privatising the good industries first and thus bringing in large amounts of hard currency so that the poor industries might have a chance of pulling out of the mire, they put the cart before the horse, retained the good industries in their hands until many of them became bankrupt too.  After decades of disastrous policies, the communists still have not learned the lesson that placing people who have been trained to spy and terrorise the population in charge of the country’s industry and finances is a recipe for disaster.   

Since Ion Iliescu took power, Romania’s major banks went bankrupt too.  Not surprisingly, investigators discovered that those in charge had links with the Securitate.  It was not enough that they swindled the country of its finances in the confusion that followed the fall of the communist regime; they conspired to swindle even the population’s meagre savings. Like in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Empire, high-ranking officials in the State security services, with hands on the levers of power, took advantage of the confusion that followed the fall of the old system and spirited away large amounts of money through a complex web of untraceable bank accounts.  That is how Russia ended up with billionaires overnight and Romania with millionaires.  

In a western democracy a blatant swindle of the banks would put a government to pasture for a long period time, but not in the ‘original democracy’ of Romania.  The government simply made sure that the opposition could not replace it.  The three levels of government – Legislative, Executive and Judicial – which are supposed to be independent and answerable to public scrutiny are all dominated by the Social Democrats, and answerable to no one.  And so the country continues its downward slide to ignominy. 

The panacea for all of its evils is now supposed to be the much hoped for accession to the European Union.  Romania has been promised that if it puts its house in order, it could do so in about four years time.  The problem is, it has already received several warnings that it is well behind schedule in tackling government corruption.   Now the people are worried that they may not make it.  They shouldn’t!  Romania will join the European Union regardless, not for its own merit but because it is like a ripe plum, ready to be picked.  In the initial stages the flood of western capital will devastate the country.  People’s only hope is that enough crumbs will fall to them to make a difference in their life too. 

When the Social Democrats took the reins of power after the fall of Ceausescu, they used to say that they did not rush to privatisation because they did not want to sell the country to foreigners. Now that they have ruined it they are offering it on a platter to any takers.

An African football player who plays for a Bucharest team, was reported in the media earlier this year as saying that even in Africa he had not seen the kind of pot holes that are in the streets of Bucharest.  We can concur with that.

When we visited the country last year, we wanted to hire a campervan, as we needed to travel.  We couldn’t! The country does not have a single caravan park.  A campervan from France was parked illegally on a dark alley in a Bucharest park because it had nowhere to go.  And they wonder why western tourists avoid the country like the plague.   We could say more about hygiene, service, conveniences, etc., but that is enough for now. 

It seems that the main beneficiaries of Iliescu’s reforms have been the gypsies who are used to travelling under any condition.  When the borders were opened, they flooded western capitals, causing devastation everywhere, and placing a stain on the whole nation. 

These are the sort of things that happen when the government keeps people under close control and is afraid to give free rein to the individual’s initiative and enterprise. 

When we contacted the two main newspapers of the country, Romania Libera and Evenimentul Zilei, and gave them reasons to investigate the Government and the Securitate, they gave us no reply.  It seems that taking on the Securitate is still a hot issue in Romania.  But there comes a time when the screw gets to tight and people cry out in desperation.  Finally the two newspapers published articles that need to be aired in other than the Romanian language.  This is what a brave lady wrote in Romania Libera. 

 

“In the last couple of years, a number of international institutions that have monitored the level of corruption in Romania, have concluded that the country is among the worst not only in Europe but in the world. 

The general conclusion was (and is) that corruption has become endemic in commercial operations, spreading even to public institutions and political structures, and raising questions about the country’s ability to fulfil the economic and politic criteria set up in Copenhagen for joining the E.U.

More than that, as a result of this scourge Romania loses $2.5 billion annually, while it draws only a third of its potential foreign investment.   Credit for this state of affairs belongs to the Government, which has transformed generalised corruption into a convenient political tool.

The press threw itself into a veritable suicidal crusade by bringing to light the authoritarian abuses of the social democrats, but other than the 400 calumny cases brought against it, the conclusion pushed by the government through its channels is that there are neither corrupt people, nor corruption in the Social Democratic Party.  In other words, corruption must be sought elsewhere. 

The Nastase Government has already ordered it, and the operation has been “executed”.  Thus, in the last week not less than two reports have been published.  Now the people, that is, next years electors, understand that those who are greatly corrupt in Romania belong not to the SDP, but to others beside it, namely the medics and the professors.   

The first report was produced by the Police, identified by international organizations as being one of the most corrupt institution in the country, and the second by the National Institute of Statistics, an organization that has been implicated recently in a scandal regarding the falsification of economic indicators in favour of the Government.  Both reports place the blame on the teaching and medical professions, saying that they are the most corrupt in Romania, because supposedly they are taking bribes and avoiding taxation.       

The two reports are nothing more than a masquerade designed to sidetrack public opinion from the real culprits, the ones that have occupied the main pages in the media for the last couple of years, as well as a ruse designed to blind the eyes of Western Organizations that monitor corruption in this country, the aim being to give the Nastase Government a passing mark in its fight against this scourge.  Therefore, the Government’s attitude in this pre-electoral year can only be described as unprincipled. 

When tens of dossiers that have resulted from investigations of people in Power lay untouched in the cabinets of Prosecution and Justice, when policemen that are implicated in tax evasion are ‘sanctioned’ with positions of higher command, when current ministers undertake dubious transactions and remain undisturbed in their functions, when municipal prefects decide all State contracts [presumably to coopt them into the Social Democrat political bandwagon], government investigators find the medical and teaching professions guilty of corruption – the very people who in a normal society are regarded as the elite!? 

Unfortunately, under the Party of the Social Democrats, Romanian society is sick, poor, and drifting, unable to discern between truth and manipulation in government’s discourses.  

It is not the medics and the professors that that are responsible for the $2.5 billion that Romania loses annually, which could be used to improve people’s standard of living.  Guilty are others, which the Government has an obligation to reveal by bringing to light and publishing the true report of the great corruption at the political level.  But can the Nastase Government fight against itself?”  (Translated from Romanian.  Article by Ada Stefan,  ‘An Unprincipled Attitude’, Romania Libera, July 19, 2003).  

 

Five days later, Evenimentul Zilei, also wrote a devastating report on the accomplishments of Iliescu’s regime.  It went on to say that 13 years after the “transformation”  of December 89, what has changed in Romania are merely the labels, but not the substance.  The Romanian Communist Party became the Social Democrat Party,  the Securitate became the SRI, Militia became the Police, Comrade became Mister, and so on. 

The latest offering from the Government to the country, with the blessing of the Orthodox Church, is a historic park in memory of . . . Dracula!  They hope that this would bring them tourists with hard currency.  They don’t know that Dracula also brings them demons, as if there weren’t enough of them in the country already.  They don’t know either that going after Dracula also brings God’s wrath and punishment.  To the corruption and incompetence of the government has been added the worst draught in the country’s history, a drought that covers almost the entire continent.  And no wonder, for the whole of Europe has gone after Dracula. 

People don’t want to learn the lesson that making a pact with Dracula is not merely getting a thorn on the side, it is thrusting themselves with an arrow through their own heart.  

If things would be allowed to follow their course, the European Union would learn that in Romania it got more than it bargained for.  It would get a spirit that no one should ever touch.  Fortunately, it won’t come to that.  Unfortunately, worse things will hit both Europe and the world before then.  The world is truly on the verge of the Great Tribulation spoken of by Jesus Christ.

God said that not all people would survive that catastrophe.  Aside from remnants of Israel and Egypt it is not clear what other nations would make it.  But we can tell you of a few that will not make it.  There is simply no room in the Millennial Kingdom of Jesus Christ for Dracula and his servants.  Those who think that that event is too far into the future to worry about are gravely mistaken.   The Great Tribulation is upon the world.  The clouds of world war are on the horizon, and there is nothing anyone can do about it anymore at this stage.

When Ion Iliescu came to power, he spared no time in getting rid of Ceausescu and his wife. The dictator deserved his fate, but it should have been done through a proper process of the law, not in hush, hush tones in darkened corridors of power.  It is interesting to note that the presiding judge, who passed the sentence on the dictator, ‘for oppressing the people’, committed ‘suicide’ shortly afterwards.  He should have condemned the dictator for other crimes, not for ‘oppressing the people’.  That truth was hurting too close, and that is why he had to commit ‘suicide’. 

Ceausescu was not alone in oppressing the people, and that oppression was not going to come to an end so conveniently.  In the ‘original democracy’ of Ion Iliescu that could be done in a much more refined manner.  Interestingly enough, after the ‘suicide’ of that judge, there followed spate of other ‘suicides’ among high placed people who rejoiced too soon in the freedoms of the ‘original democracy’.   

This then was Romania under Ceausescu, and this is Romania under Iliescu.  Patriarch Teoctist might have told his friend, Iliescu, that what a man sows is what he reaps.  And of other biblical pearls like these:

 

Job 4:8  “Even as I have seen, Those who plough iniquity And sow trouble reap the same.” 

Job 4:9  By the blast of God they perish, And by the breath of His anger they are consumed.”

Prov 22:8  He who sows iniquity will reap sorrow, And the rod of his anger will fail.”

Gal 6:7  “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”

Prov 28:17  “A man burdened with bloodshed will flee into a pit; Let no one help him.”

Prov 28:15  “Like a roaring lion and a charging bear Is a wicked ruler over poor people.”

Prov 28:16  “A ruler who lacks understanding is a great oppressor, But he who hates covetousness will prolong his days.”

Prov 29:2  “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan.”

Prov 24:24  “He who says to the wicked, "You are righteous," Him the people will curse; Nations will

Prov 24:25  abhor him.”   “But those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, And a good blessing will come upon them.”

 

This may give an answer to why many of Romania’s Orthodox priests are so much more eager to reply with picks and axes to the challenges of foreign missionaries that with the Word of God.  But this kind of battle is not confined to Romania.  We have read similar stories from Russia, Ukraine, and other former communist countries.  And from the Catholic world too!  When the Pope visited Latin America a few years ago, he delivered a strong warning to fundamentalist missionaries from the USA who were making inroads into his Catholic fold.   Any wonder that he took the side of a tyrant in the conflict between President Bush and Saddam Hussein of Iraq! 

People who in times past defended Christianity (or what they thought was ‘Christianity’) against pagan influences, are now defending an adulterated tradition against the Word of God.  It is a process that has been common to Christianity from the very beginning.  It all began with groups of people who worshiped God with genuine hearts and intentions. Then, with the passage of time, they became lacklustre and encumbered by customs and traditions that no longer fit the norm.   Then some people broke away and returned the original ‘truth’.  To them, the old guard had fallen away, and they had ‘proof’ of it.

 

2 Th 2:1  “Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together

2 Th 2:2  to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word

2 Th 2:3  or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.  Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition.”

 

When that Day did not come as expected, they themselves became apostates and instruments of the Devil in the eyes of the old guard, and they had ‘proof’ of it too.

 

1 John 2:18  “Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.  They went out from us,

1 John 2:19  but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.” 

 

This process had been repeated over and over again down through the centuries, with the result that we have churches today of every conceivable hue, belief and tradition, each holding to its own ‘truth’.  The process began when the Roman Church broke links with the Judaisers – the people who held on to the beliefs and practices of the early Churches of God. Then came the split with the Orthodox Church. Then came the Reformation, and the Protestant movement.  More recently we had the fundamentalist and charismatic splits. 

The problem is that none of their ‘truths’ stand up to the analysis of the Scriptures.  This is proven by the fact that even if only one of them was right, there would be no need for someone to come in the spirit of Elijah and restore ‘all things’ just before the return of Jesus Christ (Mat. 17:9-11).  None of these churches and denominations would be recognised by the doctrines set by Jesus Christ and His Apostles. Their Christianity is simply unrecognisable by the standards of the early Churches of God.  Although there were differences between the Christianities of Paul, Peter and James (see TCH No 9), when it came to their basic doctrines, there were none.  Which is not what one can say about the churches of today.      

This brings us to the question of what the Bible League missionaries preach in the churches they plant overseas.  We knew of their work long before they sent us their latest newsletter. Since they kept requesting donations from us, we wanted to know how they spend the money, and what gospel they preach in their churches.  They did not reply to our correspondence, nevertheless, just in case the letter got lost, we gave them a telephone call too.  A lady answered and we were able to ask her a few questions.  First we wanted to know the difference between the Bible League and the Bible Society of Australia, which also seeks donations for sending Bibles overseas.      

“Well, we don’t sell Bibles”, she said.  “All we ask is that people undertake a course with us.”

“And what do you teach them in those courses.  Do you tell them about tithing, for example?”

“Well, I suppose they do that.” 

“What about speaking in tongues?”

“Well, we don’t do that here at the headquarters, but I am not too sure what they do overseas.” 

What she was very sure of, however, was that she was alone in the office and had no more time to talk with us.  So she hang up.  Now does that tell you anything?  Does it ring a bell with you as it did with us?  Do you think these people are sincere when they say that they are concerned with distributing Bibles?  Or rather concerned with distributing their brand of Christianity. 

In their Bible League Report they admit that their main activity overseas is ‘planting churches’.  But that is not what they say when they request funds from the public.  Obviously they are using the ruse of distributing Bibles as a Trojan Horse by which they could gather funds and spread their brand of Christianity.  And what does that brand involve?  To begin with, it involves the doctrine of tithing – giving at least ten per cent of one’s income to the church.  The fact that none of the Apostles of Jesus Christ placed such burdens on their followers is of no consequence for them. 

Can you see now why their converts are so eager to become ‘church planters’ everywhere?  Getting ten per cent of the income of their converts could give them a very comfortable life style without ever having to strain their brains and burn the midnight oil with studies of higher education, or any studies for that mater.  All they need to do is let the spirit ‘touch’ them so that they can babble in tongues, then offer a mumbo-jumbo type of preaching that neither they, nor their listeners would understand.       

Of course this is not an excuse for the Orthodox priests to behave like brigands.  They should fight with the Word of God, not with weapons. The problem is, leaders of mainstream religions are almost scriptural illiterates.  But at least in their churches they read from the Scriptures.  People who attend church services regularly become familiar with most biblical stories.  Besides, Bibles are available and could be bought just about everywhere these days.

When I was in Romania last year, I saw with my own eyes that Bibles were available in bookshops and libraries.        I carried a Bible with me at all times, and no one asked me at the custom office or anywhere else what I was going to do with it.  On the contrary I spoke freely about my beliefs to anyone who asked me about it.  I also visited many churches, but I did not go there to stir up trouble, being sensitive of the local feelings and beliefs.  However I did leave behind magazines to those who would receive them, saying only that they should read them in their own time, or when they found someone who could translate them for them.

Is it right then to put Romania in the same basket with North Korea, India and Kyrgyzstan where people may never have heard of Jesus Christ, and where they could not buy a Bible even if they could afford it?  By western standards, Romania is a poor country, but not so poor that people cannot afford to buy a Bible if they wanted to.   

Foreign missionaries should follow the example of Jesus Christ, who did not advocate the setting up of rival synagogues when the Pharisees accused Him of being demon possessed.  On the contrary, He told people to obey them and do whatever they said, but not to do what they did.  He sought to enlighten the religious leaders of His day to the truth of the Scriptures, not to dethrone them from their positions.   They should also remember the example of Apostle Paul who avoided preaching where the other apostles had preached, even though his version of Christianity was somewhat different.  

The aim of missionaries therefore should be not to plant rival churches where Jesus Christ is already well known, but to enlighten the existing ones to the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, and pray that God Almighty will open their eyes to His truth in His own good time.  As things stand right now, shifting from the Orthodox faith to the new religions is like jumping from the frying pan into the fire. 

The Orthodox faith is a mixture of Old Testament customs (by whose Tabernacle its Churches are modelled – vestibule, holy place, most holy place, etc.), and lessons from the New Testament, mixed with a good doze of idolatry.  Their explanation that their statues and images were added to help people at a time when the Word of God was not easily available, no longer holds any water.  We know that all religions of the world will shortly undergo a thorough cleansing of their pagan influences, and have reasons to believe that the Orthodox Church will be one of the least affected by those changes.  If you take away the idols and replace their traditional holy days with God’s proper Holy Days, and give them enlightened priests, you come pretty close to the ideal religion of Jesus Christ. 

A characteristic of the Orthodox faith is an unusual sense of friendliness and hospitality among its people, something that is sorely missing among other religions, particularly among the new ‘Christian’ denominations.  

Seven years ago, I was forced to move out of Sydney to a satellite town due to the high cost of living.  I found a house that I liked on a little hill, standing out with nothing around it, that was within my price range.  But I needed storage space, so I told the owners that I would buy their house it if they allowed me to set up a storage shed before we exchanged the contracts.  It was a risk on my side for they could have changed their minds afterwards, but fortunately they did not.  I did not think they would, because I knew that the house had been on the market three times and was not sold.  They agreed, and I got to work with the help of a friend.  We spent two full weeks of intensive work setting up a spacious kit shed in the backyard.   The first week was awfully hot, and the second almost non-stop raining.  Yet at no time did the owners come out to greet us, offer us anything, or ask us any questions.  We were wondering what kind of people they were that would not offer us even a glass of water in all that time.  In the end, before we parted company, they wanted to convert us to their religion.  They were Jehovah’s Witnesses. 

Months later, some of their ilk came around with religious tracks, as they do all over the world.  I told them that I would accept and read their materials if they accepted and read mine. They agreed and we exchanged literature.  About 20 minutes later, they came back surreptitiously, dropped my literature at the door, then run away before I could return theirs.   

After I escaped from Ceausescu’s heaven in 1967, I went to Canada where I lived for the next eight years.  I was soon overwhelmed by the promise of another heaven here on earth within the confines of the Worldwide Church of God.  People in that church would invite me and other people to their place in order to hear the story of how I escaped from the Iron Curtain.   Almost without exception, they would offer us coffee and cookies.  I wasn’t used to ‘coffee and cookies’ and after a while I got sick of it.  In poor old Romania guests would be offered a glass of wine and a bite of real food, not ‘coffee and cookies’ all the time.  Ten years must have passed before I tasted another cup of coffee after I immigrated to Australia.  Interestingly enough, members of the Worldwide Church of God were not allowed to read other peoples’ literature either.    

This then is what the new sects do to their converts.  One can still reason with most people of Orthodox, Catholic, or Protestant orientation, but not with the fundamentalist and charismatic zealots of the new sects.   As Jesus Christ said:

  

Mat 23:15  "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.”  

Mat 23:25  "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.  "Blind Pharisee,

Mat 23:26 first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also”. 

Mat 23:27   Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.

Mat 23:28  "Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

 

Those who think that these words apply only to the Jewish Pharisees of old, are gravely mistaken.  Fundamentalist and charismatic Christians thunder against mainstream churches as if these are thoroughly pagan. They forget that there are many people of God in their midst, otherwise God would not have told them to come out of them in order to escape their fate.  

 

Rev 7:13  “Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?”  

Rev 7:14 And I said to him, "Sir, you know." So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

 

Rev 18:2  “And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and

Rev 18:3  " hated bird!  For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury."

Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.

Rev 18:5  "For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.

Rev 18:6  "Render to her just as she rendered to you, and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her.  

Rev 18:7  "In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, 'I sit as queen, and am no widow,

Rev 18:8  " and will not see sorrow.’ Therefore her plagues will come in one day; death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her.”

 

The duty of all people of God is to be ready to give an answer about their faith to anyone who may wonder about their good works.  One must give a good example first, and be well versed in the Scriptures, before undertaking to preach to others, knowing full well that that involves many trials and tribulations from unreasonable men who do not like sound doctrine. 

 

2 Tim 2:15  “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 

1 Tim 1:5  Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith,

1 Tim 1:6  from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, desiring to be teachers of

1 Tim 1:7  the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm.” 

 

Rom 15:8  “Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers,

Rom 15:9  and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written: "For this reason I will confess to You among the Gentiles, And sing to Your name."

 

Anyone can confess Jesus Christ, but they must do so in real languages, not in the ridiculous babblings of the charismatic churches.  Waving, twisting, fainting and uttering incomprehensible sounds have no room in the Churches of God.  Their claim that they have been touched by a spirit is true, but not by the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit imparts wisdom and a sound mind, not madness and confusion. 

 

 

 

 

 

Speaking In The Charismatics  ‘Tongues’ –

           Not For The People Of God 

 

When the Apostles spoke about gifts of the Holy Spirit, they had in mind real languages, not mad babblings and convulsions they practice in the charismatic churches of today.

 

1 Cor 14:5  “I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification.

1 Cor 14:6  But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you unless I speak to you either by revelation, by knowledge, by prophesying, or by teaching? 

1 Cor 14:7  Even things without life, whether flute or harp, when they make a sound, unless they make a distinction in the sounds, how will it be known what is piped or played?

1 Cor 14:8  For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare himself for battle?

1 Cor 14:9  So likewise you, unless you utter by the tongue words easy to understand, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air.

1 Cor 14:10  There are, it may be, so many kinds of languages in the world, and none of them is

1 Cor 14:11  without significance.  Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the language, I shall be a foreigner to him who speaks, and he who speaks will be a foreigner to me.

1 Cor 14:12  Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel. 

1 Cor 14:13  Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret.

1 Cor 14:14  For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.

1 Cor 14:15  What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.  Otherwise,

1 Cor 14:16  if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the uninformed say "Amen" at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say?

1 Cor 14:17  “For you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not edified.

1 Cor 14:18  I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all;  yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding,

1 Cor 14:19  that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

1 Cor 14:20 Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature.  In the law it is written:

1 Cor 14:21 "With men of other tongues and other lips I will speak to this people; And yet,

1 Cor 14:22  for all that, they will not hear Me," says the Lord.  Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who

1 Cor 14:23  believe.  Therefore if the whole church comes together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that you are out of your mind?

1 Cor 14:24  But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. 

1 Cor 14:25 And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face,

1 Cor 14:26  he will worship God and report that God is truly among you.  How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.

1 Cor 14:27  If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn,

1 Cor 14:28  and let one interpret.  But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God.

1 Cor 14:29  Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge.

1 Cor 14:30  But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent.

1 Cor 14:31  For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged.

1 Cor 14:32  And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the

1 Cor 14:33  author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.”

  

What did the Apostle mean by saying: “I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all.”  Did he mean that he was babbling in more tongues than they all?  Babbling is not being done in many tongues it is done in just one tongue – babbling.  The Holy Spirit imparted real languages to the early Christians because they needed it.  They did not have translations of the Scriptures like we do today.  They needed to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ legibly to all people in the countries in which the Holy Spirit led them.  That is what speaking in tongues meant for them, and should mean for us.      

 

Acts 2:1  “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

Acts 2:2  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

Acts 2:3   Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.

Acts 2:4  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Acts 2:5  And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven.

Acts 2:6  And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language.

Acts 2:7  Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, "Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? 

Acts 2:8  "And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?

Acts 2:9  "Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and

Acts 2:10  Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,  "Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,  "Cretans and Arabs;

Acts 2:11 we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God."

Acts 2:12  So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another,

Acts 2:13  "Whatever could this mean?”   Others mocking said, "They are full of new wine."

Acts 2:14  But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words.

Acts 2:15  "For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.

Acts 2:16  "But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

Acts 2:17  'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions,

Acts 2:18  Your old men shall dream dreams.  And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy.”

 

The Apostles urged their followers to test the spirits to find out whether they are of God or of the Adversary.  These days however, any manifestation of the spirit is considered to be from God, which is a big mistake. 

 

1 John 4:1  “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

 

This applies to people who undertake to do missionary work too.  They should make sure they preach the genuine Gospel of Jesus Christ, because false gospels have been preached in the world ever since the time of the Apostles. 

 

Gal 1:6  “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another;

Gal 1:7  but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.

Gal 1:8  But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we

Gal 1:9  have preached to you, let him be accursed.   As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.”

 

Everyone is called to become an elect of God now, because the time is short.  All you need to do is repent, be baptised, and join the ranks of those who worship God in truth and in spirit, then study the Word of God and acquaint yourself with the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Only then could you be a useful worker for Him. 

 

2 Tim 3:16  “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,

2 Tim 3:17  that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

 

Changing your life style may not be easy at the beginning. Many of your friends won’t like it, but then is their lifestyle all that glamorous and rewarding to warrant losing one’s eternal life for it?  Why not become a light to them by showing them a better and far more fulfilling way of life.   A popular proverb says that even a dead fish can swim with the tide, but it takes a live one to swim against it.  Are you capable of swimming against the tide?  Can you face the world and say, I know what is right and what is wrong, and what makes life worth living?  If you can and chose to do so you won’t be alone.  You will join the ranks of the elect of God, the salt of the earth, who have done their duty before God and Jesus Christ, and kept this world alive until now. 

 

 

 

 

  Another Right Royal Edict Needed 

 

When Prince Charles published an article about the dangers posed by genetically modified foods four years ago, we were hoping that it would be more than a mere flash in the pan, but things have gone from bad to worse since then as far as GM foods are concerned, and we have heard nothing else from the Royal House on this topic anymore.    

It is a characteristic of our time that nothing is sacred anymore.  The achievements of science and technology that have benefited our society and greatly improved our standard of living in the past, are now being put to evil use.  The angels of hope and convenience are now being overwhelmed by the demons of greed and expediency that threaten to transform us all into soulless and mindless robots. 

For decades we have been concerned about the dangers posed by the unrelenting adulteration of our foods in the name of progress and productivity.  We buy foods that look appetizing and have a long shelf life, but have no taste and little nutritional value, then we must buy vitamin and mineral supplements to restore what our foods no longer provide.   

So we were very pleased when we discovered that Prince Charles had similar views to ours, and reprinted his article in an edited form in The Christian Herald No 8.   We were hoping that that would be the beginning of a wider campaign to eliminate those monster foods once and for all, but instead we are witnessing an outright onslaught on the governments that still drag their feet in introducing GM foods in their countries on a commercial scale.

And where is the pressure coming from?  From multinational companies in collusion with the United States Government! 

The juggernaut of multinational companies, whose financial support is needed by anyone who is aspiring for leadership positions, especially in America where in spite of its claim to the contrary only the very rich can make it to the Government , is threatening to swamp opposition to its greedy policies all over the world.  It is no longer the freedoms of expression, of worship, of education, and of individual enterprise, that are at stake, but the freedom to be healthy and to eat what you like when you like it. 

More and more governments are succumbing to the pressure to introduce those foods on their market, the Australian Government being one of them.  The Americans have even threatened a trade war against the countries that oppose their policy, as if the life of this planet depended on everyone implementing the multinational companies’ agenda without delay.  Well, the life of this planet is indeed at stake, believe it or not, and genetically modified foods is one of the reasons.  We cannot speak too strongly against the introduction of those insidious foods, so much so that  we present Prince Charles’ article again, only that this time we publish it in its entirety.   We said it then, and say it again, the consequences of this unrelenting assault on the individual and his choice would be catastrophic for the world, if the Almighty allowed it to follow its course to the end.  Here then is our article about genetically modified foods published first in TCH No 8.

 

“On the 21st of May 1999, the British Government made an important announcement. The British public, it said, would not be used as guinea pigs in the battle for the genetically modified foods.  The media picked up this news and relayed it around the world.  Many people jumped with joy believing that this was a great breakthrough, but then came the second part of this announcement.  “There is nothing to fear from these foods”, said the British Foreign Minister.  “People could eat them with confidence, without any concern for their health.”

The two parts of this announcement did not seem go together very well.  It did not make sense to say that the British people would not be used as guinea pigs, then tell them to eat those untested foods without any concern for their health.

Only a week earlier, American scientists had announced that certain species of insects were no longer able to reproduce after feasting on the pollen of GM plants.

Now while the British Government was trying to obtain public acceptance for the GM foods,  the American Government was threatening a trade war with Europe over its ban on American beef containing traces of steroid chemicals (used as growth stimulants).

It is almost beyond belief that one Government would threaten war against another Government for refusing to accept poisoned food for its people.  

Has America overstepped its mark and forgot that there are limits to what even a superpower can do?  

If steroids are not harmful to people’s health, why are so many athletes being penalized for using them to enhance their performance?  And why are women developing male characteristics after prolonged use of these chemicals? 

The Governments that champion human rights and freedoms around the world, which went to war on behalf of other people (Kuwait, Kosovo, Somalia, etc.), are treating their own peoples with utmost contempt on a matter of life and death, or at least a matter of health and sickness.      

This topic was then taken up and well argued in a widely publicized article by none other than the heir to the British throne, Prince Charles himself.  Here are some excerpts from that article.

 

                              Questions about Genetically Modified Organisms

                                             An article by The Prince of Wales

                                                The Daily Mail, 1 June, 1999

      Summary:

      The debate about the use of GM technology continues, with daily news of claims about the safety or the risks. The public's reaction shows instinctive nervousness about tampering with nature when we don't know all the consequences. There are unanswered questions which need to be asked - about the need for GM food, its safety, the environmental consequences, consumer choice and the usefulness to feed the world's growing population.

      At the end of last year I set up a discussion forum on my website on the question of GMOs. I wanted to encourage wider public debate about what I see as a fundamental issue and one which affects each and every one of us, and future generations.

      There was a huge response - some 10,000 replies have indicated that public concern about the use of GM technology has been growing. Many food producers and retailers have clearly felt the same overwhelming anxiety from their consumers who are demanding a choice in what they eat. A number of them have now banned GM ingredients from their own-brand products.

      But the debate continues to rage. Not a day goes by without some new piece of research claiming to demonstrate either the safety or the risks of GM technology. It is very hard for people to know just who is right. Few of us are able to interpret all the scientific information which is available - and even the experts don't always agree. But what I believe the public's reaction shows is that instinctively we are nervous about tampering with Nature when we can't be sure that we know enough about all the consequences.

      Having followed this debate very closely for some while now, I believe that there are still a number of unanswered questions which need to be asked.

      1. Do we need GM food in this country?

      On the basis of what we have seen so far, we don't appear to need it at all. The benefits, such as there are, seem to be limited to the people who own the technology and the people who farm on an industrialised scale. We are constantly told that this technology may have huge benefits for the future. Well, perhaps. But we have all heard claims like that before and they don't always come true in the long run - look at the case of antibiotic growth promoters in animal feedstuff...

      2. Is GM food safe for us to eat?

      There is certainly no evidence to the contrary. But how much evidence do we have? And are we looking at the right things? The major decisions about what can be grown and what can be sold are taken on the basis of studying what is known about the original plant, comparing it to the genetically modified variety, and then deciding whether the two are 'substantially equivalent'. But is it enough to look only at what is already known? Isn't there at least a possibility that the new crops (particularly those that have been made resistant to antibiotics) will behave in unexpected ways, producing toxic or allergic reactions? Only independent scientific research, over a long period, can provide the final answer.

      3. Why are the rules for approving GM foods so much less stringent than those for new medicines produced using the same technology?

      Before drugs are released into the marketplace they have to undergo the most rigorous testing - and quite right too. But GM food is also designed in a laboratory for human consumption, albeit in different circumstances.

      Surely it is equally important that we are confident that they will do us no harm?

      4. How much do we really know about the environmental consequences of GM crops?

      Laboratory tests showing that pollen from GM maize in the United States caused damage to the caterpillars of Monarch butterflies provide the latest cause for concern. If GM plants can do this to butterflies, what damage might they cause to other species? But more alarmingly perhaps, this GM maize is not under test. It is already being grown commercially throughout large areas of the United States of America. Surely this effect should have been discovered by the company producing the seeds, or the regulatory authorities who approved them for sale, at a much earlier stage? Indeed, how much more are we going to learn the hard way about the impact of GM crops on the environment?

      5. Is it sensible to plant test crops without strict regulations in place?

      Such crops are being planted in this country now - under a voluntary code of practice. But English Nature, the Government's official adviser on nature conservation, has argued that we ought to put strict, enforceable regulations in place first. Even then, will it really be possible to prevent contamination of nearby wildlife or crops, whether organic or not?

      Since bees and the wind don't obey any sort of rules - voluntary or statutory - we shall soon have an unprecedented and unethical situation in which one farmer's crops will contaminate another's against his will.

      6. How will consumers be able to exercise genuine choice?

      Labelling schemes clearly have a role to play. But if conventional and organic crops can become contaminated by GM crops grown nearby, those people who wish to be sure they are eating or growing absolutely natural, non-industrialised, real food, will be denied that choice. This seems to me to be wrong.

      7. If something goes wrong with a GM crop, who will be held responsible?

      It is important that we know precisely who is going to be legally liable to pay for any damage - whether it be to human health, the environment, or both. Will it be the company who sells the seed or the farmer who grows it? Or will it, as was the case with BSE, be all of us?

      8. Are GM crops really the only way to feed the world's growing population?

      This argument sounds suspiciously like emotional blackmail to me. Is there any serious academic research to substantiate such a sweeping statement? The countries which might be expected to benefit certainly take a different view. Representatives of 20 African states, including Ethiopia, have published a statement denying that gene technologies will 'help farmers to produce the food that is needed in the 21st Century'. On the contrary, they 'think it will destroy the diversity, the local knowledge and the sustainable agricultural systems … and undermine our capacity to feed ourselves'. How much more could we achieve if all the research funds currently devoted to fashionable GM techniques - which run into billions of dollars a year - were applied to improving methods of agriculture which have stood the test of time? We already know that yields from many traditional farming systems can be doubled, at least, by making better use of existing natural resources.

      9. What effect will GM crops have on the people of the world's poorest countries?

      Christian Aid has just published a devastating report, entitled Selling Suicide, explaining why GM crops are unlikely to provide solutions to the problems of famine and poverty. Where people are starving, lack of food is rarely the underlying cause. It is more likely to be lack of money to buy food, distribution problems or political difficulties. The need is to create sustainable livelihoods for everyone. Will GM crops really do anything to help? Or will they make the problems worse, leading to increasingly industrialised forms of agriculture, with larger farms, crops grown for export while indigenous populations starve, and more displaced farm workers heading for a miserable, degraded existence in yet more shanty towns?

      10. What sort of world do we want to live in?

        This is the biggest question of all. I raise it because the capacity of GM technology to change our world has brought us to a crossroads of fundamental importance. Are we going to allow the industrialisation of Life itself, redesigning the natural world for the sake of convenience and embarking on an Orwellian future? And, if we do, will there eventually be a price to pay? Or should we be adopting a gentler, more considered approach, seeking always to work with the grain of Nature in making better, more sustainable use of what we have, for the long-term benefit of mankind as a whole? The answer is important. It will affect far more than the food we eat; it will determine the sort of world we, and our children, inhabit.”  (This article was also published in (Sydney Daily Telegraph, June 2, 1999).

 

As you can see, the Government and the Monarchy are at odds on this matter.  Time was when those opposing the Monarch would lose their heads, but with Constitutional Monarchies . . . anything goes.  If the Monarch’s views carry no weight with his own Government, why pay millions to have a Monarchy at all?  

Prince Charles clearly is better informed, and better attuned to the public mood, than his Government.  He had done himself a great disservice by not coming out earlier and letting us know what he is capable of, for clearly he can do more than just open shopping malls and play polo.  Perhaps if he had a stint as Governor in the far outposts of the Commonwealth (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, etc.), there might not be such a yearning for a native head of state (Republic) in these lands.  But then, this would have meant leaving London behind, and who would wish to inflict such a fate on the royal progeny.

What Prince Charles didn’t do in his article (though as head of the Anglican Church he could have had a go at it), is tell people what God Himself had to say on this topic.  But had he done that, he might have been branded as religious, and these days that could have meant the kiss of death as far as his chances of succeeding to the British throne were concerned.  But we have no throne to lose, so we take up this case.

 

Gen 1:11  “Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so. 

Gen 1:12  And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.”

 

So when God created the world He determined that everything had to be “according to its kind”, not mixing animal genes with plant genes and producing who knows what monstrosities in the process. But what about mixing and “improving” things, someone might ask.  This is what God says about that:

 

Lev 19:19  “'You shall keep My statutes. You shall not let your livestock breed with another kind. You shall not sow your field with mixed seed. Nor shall a garment of mixed linen and wool come upon you.”

Deu 22:9  "You shall not sow your vineyard with different kinds of seed, lest the yield of the seed which you have sown and the fruit of your vineyard be defiled.”

 

So breeding and mixing different kinds, be they livestock or seeds, does not improve but weaken and defiles the respective species.  Those who have tampered with the genetic makeup of plants and animals have gone way beyond just mixing different kinds, they have modified the very fabric of God’s creation.

It is not a mere coincidence that as these practices have proliferated the world has stumbled from one disaster to another, with all kinds of new and deadly viruses and epidemics.  It was God’s way of telling the world that He does not like what human beings have been doing to His creation.

During the decades of chemical contamination (in the guise of fertilizers, insecticides and antibiotic growth promoters), it was still possible to reduce exposure to these foods by growing your own or by buying from those who have grown them organically.  But now, this insidious new development makes it impossible to protect oneself.  There are now products on the market which are not only genetically modified, and therefore harmful to health, but promoted as alternative health foods.  Canola, maize, cotton seed, and soybean oils are only a few of such examples.

Most people may be under the impression that we are at the beginning of this problem, when in fact supermarket shelves are full of products which have been genetically altered.

 

“Consumers have been advised to avoid mixed vegetable oils, margarines, some take-away foods and even pork if they do not want genetically engineered foods. Gene technology watchdog the Gene-Ethics Network says consumers will have to be very careful if they want to steer completely clear of altered foods.  Director Bob Phelps said the most widely used GE foods here were modified cotton seed oil and modified soybean. It’s a matter of doing some research and getting on the 1 800 numbers and finding out for yourself,” Mr Phelps said.”  (The Sun-Herald, June 20, 1999).

 

Isn’t that extraordinary?  It is not for governments to pass legislation forcing companies to tell us what they are feeding us; it is for the consumers to become research specialists if they want to know what they are eating.  

Food affects people’s health and mental processes.  Being a Christian demands a resolute commitment to a way of life that encourages and stimulates clear and insightful thinking.  Tampering with the genetic makeup of plants and animals poses a danger not only to our bodies, but also to our mental and spiritual well being.  We pray and hope that God Almighty will not allow this to happen.  We also hope that the British, the American, the Australian governments, as indeed all governments, take note of the latest scientific discoveries, which will affect us all if we allow this to continue.   

 

Vilified gene food scientist right after all.  A scientist who was vilified by the British Government earlier this year for raising the alarm over genetically modified food is about to be vindicated by the publication of his original research in the prestigious medical journal, The Lancet later this month.   Dr Arpad Pusztai, a world expert in lectins, the natural insecticide produced by plants, found GM food stunted the rats’ growth, damaged internal organs and weakened immune system.”  (SMH, October 5, 1999).  

 

 

 

 

 

                        The  Latest  WAKE-UP  call

 

One of the questions we are often asked is how big is our organization and what do we intend to achieve?  Many people love to join large congregations that work like neighborhood clubs, but unfortunately we cannot offer such comfort.

From inception, our concern has been to restore the original Gospel preached to us by Jesus Christ and recorded in the Bible for posterity by His Apostles.  This Gospel is virtually unknown in our world today,  but having restored it successfully, it fell to us to also preach it as a witness to all nations.  We are happy to say that in spite of our size, that work has been carried out just as Jesus Christ wanted it.   Which proves that the size of a congregation is not an indication of the importance of its work.  

In 1992, in our No 2 edition of The Christian Herald, we wrote:

 

"Two thousand years ago, John the Baptist, a prophet of God, delivered this message to the people of Israel: 'Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!' (Matt. 3:2). 

He was followed by Jesus Christ who told them that the Kingdom of God was already in their midst, meaning that He - Jesus Christ - represented that Kingdom (Luke 17:21).

 

Those who have repented and accepted this message, have received the promise that they will inherit eternal life and become priests and kings in the Kingdom of God:

"Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.  To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever.  Amen.

Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him.  And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him.  Even so, Amen." (Rev. 1:5-7).

 

"You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth." (Rev. 5:9-10).

 

A call to repentance is a call to a life of righteousness.  Those who respond to this call have God's unbreakable promise that they shall receive eternal life in His Kingdom at the time of the resurrection from the dead.

This promise will be fulfilled shortly.  The world is in the throes of the greatest revolutionary change ever.  God is preparing every nation in the world for new leadership.  New kings and new priests will take over and install rulership according to the will of God.  The current world difficulties and realignments are a prelude to that event.

This message concerns that change.  It is a call to repentance to every person in the world.  God will not change the leadership of any nation before He gives them the chance to repent.  Jesus Christ is telling everyone that it is not too late to respond to His call.  He is giving you the chance to receive an inheritance far greater than the one you currently possess.

The fact that we have no affiliation with any existing church or religion, that we rely solely on the Bible and the Holy Spirit for inspiration, should give you an indication that this is not the work of mere human beings.  This kind of work is not possible without the guidance of God's Holy Spirit.

Your repentance and conversion is between you and God.  We are happy to facilitate that process.  We make no show and no publicity of our work.  We keep no records and no files aside from our mailing lists.  If anyone wishes to have their name removed from it we would sadly oblige.

 

Having made ourselves and our work known, it is now up to you.  We declare, on the revelation of God Almighty, that there is no other work on earth that preaches the true Gospel of the Jesus Christ at present.  It is not hard to find out whether this claim is true or not.  It costs you nothing if you take up this challenge, but it could cost you your inheritance if you ignore it this time. 

Should you feel such a call in your heart, we would be more than happy to extend our hand of fellowship.  In this time of "global village" and unprecedented technological developments, fellowshipping does not necessarily mean being in the same place.  The meeting of our minds can take place via many venues, not the least via the Holy Spirit.

The fact that we are a small congregation should not discourage you, for Jesus Christ referred to His Church as a "little flock".   "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."(Luke 12:32).

At no time was it envisioned that His ‘little flock’ would grow into a worldwide institution before His return.   So delay no further, write to us now, or go to our web site and email us, for the Kingdom of Heaven is truly at hand. 

We look forward to hearing from you. You will never regret it.