Deadly Natural Disasters
That Carry A Deadlier Message
Could anyone still say that the multitude of natural disasters of 2004
were mere cycles of nature, no different from those that have struck this
planet in the past?
For over a decade we have warned the world that end time prophecies were
in the making, that things would get progressively worse until humanity has
learned the lesson that it cannot live without its Maker, yet few people took
note of our warnings. Now, all of a sudden, world leaders and scientists are up
in the arms over what is happening to this planet.
Year 2004 ended up with what the United Nations said was the worst
natural disaster in its history, a tsunami of such magnitude that killed people
in the hundreds of thousands and destroyed the livelihood of millions of people
in twelve countries around the Indian Ocean.
That was only the culmination of a series of catastrophes that struck
all over the world.
There were four times more devastating hurricanes than usual in America,
eight times more typhoons in the seas around Japan, floods of the century in
China, India and Bangladesh, droughts of the century in Australia, mid west
America, Africa and elsewhere, extremes of weather from draught to floods in
Europe, deadly earthquakes in many parts of the world but especially in east
Asia, plagues of locusts in Africa, the Middle East, Australia, and elsewhere,
epidemics that threaten the future of many nations in the Third World, and
general weather upheavals in all countries of the world.
Some television stations had the headline “Apocalypse” in the background
as they read reports of these disasters, but generally speaking few people took
seriously the notion that we are really in the end time. But if
these are not the signs that Jesus Christ said would preceded the Great
Tribulation and His return to this earth, then we would like to know what they
are. Let us have a look at what He said.
Mat 24:1 “Then
Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show
Him the buildings of the temple.
Mat 24:2 And
Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to
you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown
down."
Mat 24:3 Now
as He sat on the
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 24:6 "And you will hear
of wars and rumours of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these
things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
Mat 24:7 "For nation will
rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines,
pestilences, and earthquakes
Mat 24:8 in various places. "All these are the beginning of
sorrows.
Mat 24:9 "Then they will
deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all
nations for My name's sake.
Mat 24:10 "And then many
will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.
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.
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.
Mat 24:15 "Therefore when
you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet,
standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand),
Mat 24:16
"then let those who are in
Mat 24:17
"Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything
out of his house.
Mat 24:18 "And let him who
is in the field not go back to get his clothes.
Mat 24:19 "But woe to those
who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!
Mat 24:20 "And pray that
your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.
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.
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.
Mat 24:26 "Therefore if they
say to you, 'Look, He is in the desert!' do not go out; or 'Look, He is in the
inner rooms!' do not believe it.
Mat 24:27 "For as the
lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming
of the Son of Man be.
Mat 24:28 "For wherever the
carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
Mat 24:29 "Immediately after
the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not
give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens
will be shaken.
Mat 24:30 "Then the sign of
the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will
mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with
power and great glory.
Mat 24:31 "And He will send
His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His
elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Mat 24:32 "Now learn this
parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts
forth leaves, you know that
Mat 24:33 summer is near. "So you also, when you see all these
things, know that it is near; at the doors!
Mat 24:34 "Assuredly, I say
to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take
place.
Mat 24:35 "Heaven and earth
will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
Mat 24:36 "But of that day
and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.
Mat 24:37 "But as the days
of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. "For as in the days before the flood,
Mat 24:38 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.
Mat 24:40 "Then two men will
be in the field: one will be taken and the other left.
Mat 24:41 "Two women will be
grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.
Mat 24:42 "Watch therefore,
for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.
Mat 24:43 "But know this,
that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he
would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.
Mat 24:44 "Therefore you
also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
Every single sign that Jesus Christ spoke about in
this prophecy has been fulfilled, which means that the world is now in line for
their culmination into the Great Tribulation and His return to this earth.
What is astounding about these impending world shattering events is that
although the world has been warned about them countless times, it will still be
taken buy surprise by their fulfilment.
If you think that the earthquakes and the tsunamis that struck this
planet last year were unprecedented, consider the magnitude of the earthquake
that will precede Jesus’ return.
Rev 16:17 “ Then the seventh angel poured out
his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from
the
Rev 17:2 judgment of the great
harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed
fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of
her fornication."
The current world travails are mere warnings of a catastrophe the likes
of which the world has never seen, an earthquake of such magnitude that will
flatten the cities of the nations, cover every island and flatten
mountains. Those who think that this
event is yet a long way in the future, will have a crude realisation soon. Our writings are a witness that we have done
our duty before the world, before our Savior and
before our God.
After providing countless scriptural and historical proofs of the bona
fide of this work, we can do no more than add to it the latest scientific
alarms about global warming and the threat it poses to the very survival of
life on this planet, and the need for our heavenly Father to hasten the return
of our Lord Jesus Christ and the setting up of the Millennium Kingdom without
delay.
“Polar Ice Caps
Melting” “Scientists
have found that the ice caps in Greenland are melting ten times faster than
previously thought. What’s happening to
the
This is the frontline of what many scientists see as a key factor in
climate change. It’s remote and hostile,
but what happens here could affect us all.
This is volatile terrain. Huge
icebergs brake away all the time, but the latest evidence is alarming – the
recent melting is far beyond what normally happens in summer. It is ten times faster than previously
thought.
This is the very edge of the icesheet, and scientists have discovered
that it is in retreat at an alarming speed.
To give you a sense of scale, this massive wall of ice behind me, is
dropping in hight at a rate of one meter a month. Whatever it causes, something pretty drastic
is going on here. “If we’d been here
three months ago, how much higher would we be standing”, asked the reporter a
local person.
“It’s all changed in just a century. Back then the glaciers were
pictured as being far larger. A satellite picture traces the extraordinary
retreat of the ice, speeding up in the last fifteen years [Remember, fifteen years ago is when we started this work]. As a simulation shows what could happen – the
whole thing is simply vanishing.”
“Ferdinand and his family, has started cultivating potatoes. In the year
2000, he says, it got warmer [Remember, in the year 2000 we unveiled
Daniel’s prophecies about the end time].
Before that, the sea froze solid in winter. Now we are growing things like never
before. Scientists don’t understand it,
but they are clear on two things: there is change, and the whole world will
feel it.” (SBS TV,
Antarctic Ice Caps
Melting Eight Times Faster Than a Decade Ago “As the UN latest climate control conference
gets under way, the United States has again resisted calls to ratify the Kyoto
protocol. Leaders and environmentalists
from 150 nations are gathering in
Jason Om (reporter): “Under the surface,
Bob Thomas, Project Manager:
“This has major implications, certainly for the next 10 to 100
years. Because if sea levels start to
raise from this course, it will be impossible not to turn it into a rout.”
J.O. “Researchers believe as the
ice shells crack, the glaciers from behind start to accelerate into the sea at
a rate eight times faster than a decade ago.”
Jim Yungel, NASA scientist. “We’re finding this in ice caps in
Greenland; we’re finding this in ice caps from northern Canada . . .” Almost everywhere we are making
measurements around the world, the ice is in retreat.”
J.O. It’s more bad news for world leaders
gathering in
New figures show that
Juan Carlos Villalonga, Greenpeace. “There is absolutely no balance. In ten years, the world hasn’t been able to
agree what type of effort to make to reduce emissions, despite the fact that
there is an urgent problem.”
J.O. “
We strongly recommend that people read our article “Is It A Question Of Survival Or Salvation?” in The Christian Herald No 3, which we
published as early as 1993. They will see where the roots of many of
the current world problems lay. Here is
a quote from that article.
“The former Soviet Union gave us Chernobyl then it
collapsed. The world breathed a sigh of
relief in the hope that the Cold War and the danger of nuclear confrontation
were over. What the world did not know
then was that the legacy of communism is just as catastrophic for the world as
the danger from its nuclear arsenals:
"
People who are environmentally conscious know about
the devastation caused by the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska. But how many people know that in the vast Russian
wilderness, four times that amount is being spilled every day from the decaying
antiquated oil installations? The damage
done to the environment by the oil spill and its many accompanying fires is
incalculable. The topsoil is being destroyed and the ground below, which was
permanently frozen, is beginning to melt.
Scientists fear that this will affect the global climate. Already in 1990, the temperature in the
Arctic Circle reached 40 degrees Celsius, eight degrees above the normal.
On the political scene, things are hardly better. The West has put all its hopes in President
Yeltsin's ability and determination to introduce democratic reforms in
Russia. But what will happen when he is
no longer on the scene? He is in poor
health, and while there seem to be no obvious contenders who can step in his
shoes and continue his reforms, there are many powerful rivals who call for the
restoration of the Russian empire.
On the economic sphere, the one great resource that
gives
“Last year, gathered at the Rio International Summit,
more than one hundred heads of states to discuss the frightening deterioration
of the environment. They discussed
things, and that's all. Has anyone heard
anything about that event since? Human
beings have an uncanny ability to discuss things when they get to a crisis
point, then leave the problems to others to resolve. This time, however, the problems will not be
resolved by others. The world is no
longer facing temporary local problems, but intractable worldwide
problems. It is no longer a question of
survival, but one of salvation. But
science cannot save; only God can.
Human beings, however, have decided that there is no
room for God in their deliberations.
Even when the world is crumbling around them, when it is becoming
obvious that life itself is in danger of extinction, they will not turn to the
only source that can save them. They
seek immortality through "scientific" methods such as cryogenics
(deep-freezing of the corpse in the hope that one day scientists will discover
the secret of immortality, cure their diseased bodies and revive them to
eternal life), and perpetual replacement of body parts with robotic devises or
genetically cloned body parts. That's
the kind of immortality science offers humanity.
That educated people can come up with such absurdities
is a witness to the bankruptcy of our educational system. That is the effect of compartmentalizing our
tertiary studies in rigid disciplines without any relation to each other. It should be obligatory for all university
students to study humanity subjects. As
it is, we get medical graduates without ethics, lawyers without morals, and
scientists with distorted visions of the future. They need to study not just any humanity
subjects, but the good old fashion classics, philosophy and religion. During my university studies, the head of the
Religious Studies Department once said that "time was when in
philosophical studies people talked about God and the meaning of life, about
ethics and values, but no more." These days they have a "Theory"
that if people understand what they study, it is not worth studying.
Searching for truth, God, and a moral purpose in life
does not go well with evolutionary thinking.
In the struggle for survival there is no room for compassion, altruistic
feelings and transcendental goals.
Hedonistic materialism and the pursuit of mindless pleasures, are the
things that count in our "enlightened" society. That is why humanity
finds itself on the brink of catastrophe.” (The
Christian Herald No 3, p.4).
When people wonder why the melting of the ice caps has accelerated in
the last decade or so they might wish to remember the inferno of oil wells that
were set aflame by Saddam Hussein when he was in retreat from Kuwait. Who is
Saddam Hussein? The darling of France,
Germany and Russia, which even after the discovery of over three hundred mass
graves in Iraq still maintain that his removal was “illegal”, and of Kofi Annan who said that he could
do business with him even after he set up those enormous fires which greatly contributed to the global
warming.
The following is a report from Australia’s ABC television network about
the perilous condition of the world.
TONY JONES [reporter]: Now to tonight's guest - David
Goodstein is professor of physics at the California Institute of Technology or
Caltech. In his latest book, 'Out of
Gas' - the End of the Age of Oil', he explores the consequences of oil reserves
getting lower and lower in the coming decades.
Professor Goodstein joined us from San Francisco. David Goodstein,
thanks for joining us.
PROFESSOR DAVID GOODSTEIN, AUTHOR 'OUT OF GAS': Thank
you.
TJ: Your most alarming statement you make in your book
is that civilisation as we know it will come to an end before the end of this
century when we run out of fuel?
D G: Yes, that is, it's meant to be alarming, it's
meant to alarm people, to wake people up and help prevent that from
happening.
T J: So, how long do you reckon we've got in
reality?
D G: Well, that's not an easy question to answer. We will probably have an oil crisis
reasonably soon.
It may have already begun. We are much
too close to the situation to know for sure.
The information we're given is much too undependable for us to know for
sure.
It might not actually happen until later this decade or even in the next
decade. Those differences are very
important to us because we would like to go on living the comfortable lives we
lead. But on the long scale of human
history 10 or 20 years is absolutely negligible. So we will have a oil crisis. There are other fossil fuels that can be made
a substitute for oil, at a price. So we
might be able to muddle on for a while, though a much more likely scenario is
that we will have resource wars and other terrible things happening. But it is possible we'll be able to muddle on
for a while, even turning to coal, for example, which can be liquefied and used
as a substitute for oil and which is in very large supply. But if we do all that, for one thing we will
do an unpredictable amount of damage to our climate, and for another thing it's
my guess that we would start running out of coal. Let us say we would reach the point where
we're depleting the resource faster than we can develop new sources probably in
the this century.
T J: This is one of the interesting things because
people tend to think that coal and natural gas are available in virtually
infinite quantities. If oil runs out you
can turn to them. What you're saying is
all fossil fuels are finite?
D G: All fossil fuels are finite. We don't have a very clear idea of how much
there is for the various resources. The
historical peak in oil discovery worldwide occurred around 1960, discoveries
have been declining ever since. The
historic peak and natural gas discoveries occurred in the 1970s and so the
maximum for natural gas production probably is only 10 years or so behind that
for oil. We seem to make hundreds to
thousands of years estimates at the present rate of extraction but that's
completely unrealistic because we use twice as much energy now from oil as we
do for coal. If you're going to mine
coal to substitute for the oil you have to mine it much faster, the conversion
process is inefficient, the world's population is increasing. the poorer parts of the world want to be more
like us and use more energy and finally, we will run out of, we will be in
trouble with coal not when we mine the last tonne, but when we reach the peak
production which is about the halfway point.
T J: We've just heard about Hubbard's peak and the
speculation that we passed the point of no return. How does anyone know for sure that we're
actually past that point?
D G: We can't know for sure. I've always thought that we will know that
the peak has occurred when Saudi Arabia maxes out, when it reaches its peak in
production. The Saudis claim they will
be able to increase their production by a million barrels a day in a relatively
short period of time. That promise has
not yet been kept. We don't know whether
it's true. If you look at the history of
what's called proved oil reserves. The proved reserves of oil in the OPEC organisation of petroleum
exporting countries, increased by 300 to 400 billion barrels in the late 1980s. There were no important discoveries of oil
during that period. What happened
instead was that OPEC changed its quota system how much oil each country could
pump based on in part its claimed reserves and the claimed reserves just
appeared out of nowhere by magic. So
half the world's proved reserves may be an illusion and the information we're
given is so undependable we really just can't say.
T J: Do you believe oil companies have lied about
this?
D G: We know that Royal Dutch Shell did because they
were audited by the SEC, by an external auditor an independent auditor forced
to reduce their estimated reserves by 20 per cent. That sent shock waves through the entire oil
industry. But 90 per cent of the proved
reserves are held by countries, not by companies and nobody ordered the Saudi
books.
T J: Have we really discovered all the remaining great
oilfields though. We know for example
geologists claim there is a great lake of oil under Antarctica?
D G: The people who would like to believe that the
Hubbard's peak is further away than some of us fear, believe that we may make
great discoveries in the deep oceans and the Antarctic, as you say, and central
and northern Siberia and so on. I think
they're grasping at straws. Two-thirds
of the world's oil reserves are in the Middle East the Persian Gulf. That's 10 times as much as Africa, ten times
as much as the Middle East, ten times as much as in the former Soviet
Union. There are no other important
players in the game. We recently saw a
spike because there were a couple of storms in the Gulf of Mexico. Just think of what's going to happen when the
Saudi regime collapses.
T J: As we know, many scientists are convinced that
global warming is happening so fast that if we don't stop burning fossil feel
fuels the earth will reach within 30 years a catastrophic tipping point. Are you saying that effectively we're going to
run out of fossil fuels before we destroy the environment?
D G: There are some people who see that as the silver
lining in the cloud. We'll reach
Hubbard's peak and have to reduce our burning of fossil fuels and that will
keep us from damaging and doing irreversible damage to the planet. It
seems to me that's like hoping that the patient will have a fatal heart attack
to save him from dying of cancer. It's
not the way I think we ought to do things.
T J: Professor James Lovelock who's called by many the
father of the environmental movement says "the industry world must now
embrace nuclear power as the only viable alternative to oil and other fossil
fuels". What do you say to that
argument?
D G: It depends on what kind of nuclear power you
mean. If you mean the kind of
conventional power that we use for power in the United States, burning uranium
235, which is a rare isotope of uranium, there are a couple of problems. One of them is you would have to build 10,000
of the largest power plants that are feasible by engineering standards in order
to replace the 10 terawatts of fossil fuel we're burning today. 10,000 nuclear plants of the largest kind
possible - that's a staggering amount and if you did that, the known reserves
of uranium would last for 10 to 20 years at that burn rate. So, it's at best a bridging technology. If you're talking about nuclear fusion, then
in the long range the fuel is almost limitless but it's been 25 years away for
the past 50 years and it's still 25 years away.
It has been said of nuclear fusion and also shell oil which is one of
the possible fossil fuels that they are the energy sources of the future and
always will be.
T J: So, with nuclear power, even if we could build
those 10,000 nuclear power plants presumably right around the world it would
only be a temporary thing?
D G: It would only be a temporary fix. You can use the rest of the uranium to breed
plutonium 239 then we'd have at least 100 times as much fuel to use. But that means you're making plutonium, which
is an extremely dangerous thing to do in the dangerous world that we live
in.
T J: So, what do you say then to the arguments of the
Professor Lovelock and others, who say that nuclear power is the only
alternative to avoid reaching the fatal tipping point?
D. G. I agree with them. I think that we must make use of all possible
alternatives to fossil fuels, nuclear power included. I'm just trying to stress that it's not the
magic bullet that will by itself save us from our problems, but I certainly
think we have to use it.
T. J. There is one other alternative we should be
talking about and that is hydrogen as fuel for future motor cars.
What do you think of the hydrogen alternative?
D. G. Hydrogen is made from fossil fuel. It is not a substitute for fossil fuels. It's just a way of conveying energy. It is not a source of energy. The economics today are if you make hydrogen
by burning fossil fuel to generate electricity and then electrolyse water to
make the hydrogen, it will require somewhere between three and six gallons of
gasoline to make enough hydrogen to replace one gallon of gasoline. So, a hydrogen economy doesn't solve anything
really. In the long-term future if you
had plenty of fusion power available, stationary power, and the only problem
was to make it mobile to serve for transportation then making hydrogen might
make sense.
T. J. So, what you're saying is that right now, making
hydrogen could actually create more global warming than we're seeing at the
moment?
D. G. Yes, unless you make it from renewable sources such
as solar energy or atomic energy.
T. J. You were
pointing out, and I think this is one of your major points - there is no magic
bullet. So, presumably we have to
combine our efforts using what we have - solar power, wind power, tidal power
in combinations unlike anything we have seen before. Is that feasible though, would any
politicians agree to make such great changes?
D. G. Well, we
went through a presidential election in the US in which neither party mentioned
anything having to do with this problem, which I think is the most important
problem of our era. Politicians do not
want to touch this subject. Any
politician who tells Americans that they'll have to give up their SUVs has
committed political suicide. But it does
seem to me that a courageous and visionary politician could say to us, "by
burning fossil fuels we're putting ourselves at the mercy of some very nasty
and unstable parts of the world and we're also endangering the climate of our
planet. For the sake of our children and
grandchildren we simply must learn to kick the fossil fuel habit." If that kind of challenge were given to our
scientists and engineers I think we could do it.
T. J. But as you say, the vision our political leaders
is usually constricted to the three or four years of their electoral cycles.
How long would be it be before the crisis reaches the point where great powers
have no choice but to a make radical decisions?
D. G. It's impossible to guess. Everything we read about in the papers every
day suggests that the worldwide system for production and distribution of oil
is stretched to the breaking point. That
certainly is a symptom one would expect if we have already reached the
peak. But the fact we have a symptom
doesn't mean we have already reached the peak, it's just an indication.
As I say, we are too close to the situation.
The information we get is far too undependable for us to say. I can not predict how soon it will happen. But it will happen and when it happens there
will be a huge price shock in the cost of gasoline at the pump, in the cost of
everything that has to be transported and not insignificantly, in the cost of
all petrochemicals. There are 6.4
billion people living on the planet today.
Most of them reasonably well-fed as a result of what was called the 'green
revolution' in the second half of the 20th Century. That consisted in a very large part of
fertilising land using petrochemical-based fertilisers. So, that stuff is pretty valuable. I don't think we can sustain the population
we have today, much less what we'll have in 20 or 50 years without
petrochemical fertilisers.
T. J. Just looking around the world, do you see any
political leaders who appears to understand the full extent of this
crisis?
D. G. If there is one I have not met him or her
yet.
T. J. All right.
Let's try, if we can, to end on a positive note. Are you confident that human ingenuity,
scientific ingenuity will in the end find a way out of this problem?
D. G. I'm
hopeful, not confident.
T. J. Professor David Goodstein, let's hope we have
better news for our children and grandchildren than you're predicting. We thank you though, for joining us.
D. G. Okay. (Broadcast
by Australia’s ABC television network on November 23, 2004).
We conclude this article with a short quote from
Australia’s largest circulation newspaper.
“2004 in
top ten warmest” “A two-week hot spell in February, which set
new temperature records, contributed to last year being ranked the 10th hottest year on record [in
Australia]. The
Bureau of Meteorology’s Annual Australian Climate Summary released yesterday
said preliminary data showed the country’s annual mean temperature was 0.45C
above the 1961-1990 long-term average, making 2004 the tenth warmest year since
1910. In February, temperatures reached
48.5C in Ivanhoe in western NSW and 46.7C in Ouyen,
south of Mildura in Victoria. The general rise in Australian temperatures
during the second half of the 20th century was in line with global
warming trends, the survey said. The
World Meteorological Organisation reported the global mean temperature for 2004
at 0.44C above normal, the fourth
warmest year since records began in 1861.
The survey showed rainfall patterns to be far from uniform despite the
2004 average of 507mm
outstripping the long-term average of 472mm.”
(The Daily Telegraph, January
7, 2005).
"And you shall know
the truth,
and the truth shall
make you free”
Just what did Jesus Christ mean when He made that statement? The Jews of His day thought that they knew
the truth and were free, yet He told them that they neither knew the truth nor
were free, but were in fact children of the Devil.
The implications of these statements are enormous, not the least because
they have been misunderstood by most people, particularly by those who have
transformed them into a doctrine of hatred towards the Jews. What they fail to understand is that in their
natural state ALL human beings are the same, all are children of the
Devil.
Luke 13:1 “There
were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood
Pilate had mingled with their
Luke 13:2 sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them,
"Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other
Luke 13:3 Galileans, because they
suffered such things? "I tell you,
no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.
Luke 13:4 "Or those eighteen
on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were
worse sinners than all
Repentance is the catalyst that changes human nature, the conscious act
of mature individuals that changes them from children of the Devil into
children of God.
Since the beginning of time God had people in the world who passed on
this message to humanity, people who spoke His truth without fear or favour. There are countless examples of people who
did so after the Flood of Noah, but not many people know that there were
prophets of God who spoke His truth before the Flood too. Here is but one such example.
Speaking the truth of God in this world, however, has never been easy or
welcomed. People would rather go their
own way and “do their own thing” than have God in their proximity and take note
of His messages. The very first human
beings run away from God when they sinned, rather than repent, a characteristic
they passed on to all their descendants.
Even the “chosen people”, who saw an extraordinary array of miracles
when they were delivered from Egyptian slavery, became uncomfortable with God
in their proximity and demanded a mediator between them and God. It is worth having a fresh look at their
story.
Exo 19:3 And Moses went
up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, "Thus you
shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of
Exo 19:4 “'You have seen
what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought
you to Myself.
Exo 19:5 'Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall
be a special treasure to Me above
all people; for all the earth is Mine.
'And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.'
Exo 19:6 These are the
words which you shall speak to the children of
Exo 20:1 And God spoke
all these words, saying:
Exo 20:2 "I am the
LORD your God, who brought you out of the
Exo 20:3 "You shall
have no other gods before Me. (The First Commandment).
Exo 20:4 "You shall not make for yourself a
carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is
in the earth
Exo 20:5 beneath, or that is in the water under the
earth; you shall not bow down to them
nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity
of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who
hate Me,
Exo 20:6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who
love Me and keep My commandments. (The
Second Commandment).
Exo 20:7 "You shall not take the name of the LORD
your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name
in vain. (The Third Commandment).
Exo 20:8 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it
holy.
Exo 20:9 Six days you
shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day
Exo
Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and
the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day.
Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. (The Fourth Commandment).
Exo
Exo
Exo
Exo
Exo
Exo
Exo 20:18 Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the
trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled
and stood afar off.
Exo
Exo
They loved their life so much they feared they would die if God spoke
with them directly, yet all He wanted was to test them and teach them a lesson
so that they may not sin and depart from His ways; that they may obey His
Commandments and treasure the Covenant He made with them. That Covenant would have given them
protection against their enemies, and unsurpassed blessings, but He conditioned
it on their obedience to Him and on keeping His Commandments.
Exo
Exo
Exo
Lev 26:2 You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the
LORD.
Lev 26:3 'If you walk in My
statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them,
Lev 26:4 then I will give you
rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the
field shall yield their fruit. . . “
Lev 26:7 You
will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you.
Lev 26:8 Five of you shall chase
a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies
shall fall by the sword
Lev 26:9 before you. 'For I will look on you favorably
and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you. . . ”
Lev 26:14 'But
if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, and if you
despise My statutes,
Lev 26:15 or if your soul abhors
My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My
covenant,
Lev 26:16 I also will do this to
you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall
consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in
vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
Lev 26:17 I will set My face
against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you
shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you.
Lev 26:18 'And after all this, if
you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins . .
.”
The Israelites failed to keep their side of the bargain, and as a result
they lost everything: blessings, land, protection, and worst of all, they lost
their God. They had derailed so far from
Him that when He came in their midst they did not recognise Him and they killed
Him.
John 1:1 “In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Yes, “the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through
Jesus Christ”. The question is, does
grace and truth override the law? Let us
go back to the very beginning and settle this question once and for all in its
context. God felt so strongly about the
Ten Commandments that He inscribed them again in their Scriptures. We won’t list them again here, as you can
read them for yourself in Deuteronomy chapter five. What we want to look at here rather is the
emphasis He placed on the Second Commandment.
He repeated that Commandment not once or twice, but dozens of times
throughout the Old and New Testaments.
And that is the Commandment against idolatry. Notice what He told the Israelites immediately
after He gave them the Ten Commandments.
Exo
Exo
Exo
Exo
Exo
God repeated the Commandment against idolatry, then He told them that
when they build Him an altar they must do it with stones on which they had not
laid their tools, for the moment they did so they had profaned them.
Can you see why Jesus Christ said that in their natural state human
beings are not free, do not know the truth of God, and can never know God
Himself? To use an Old Testament term,
carnal human beings are simply “unclean”.
Of course He was speaking to the
Jews, but His words have universal application.
That is why He sent His disciples into all the world to make converts of
all nations.
Mat 28:18 “And
Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me
in heaven and on earth.
Mat 28:19 "Go therefore and
make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and
of the Son
Mat 28:20 and of the Holy
Spirit, “teaching them to observe all
things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end
of the age." Amen.
The Apostles of Jesus Christ understood the true condition of humanity,
and the fact that they themselves were subject to the pulls of human nature
even after conversion and the receiving of the Holy Spirit. As Apostle Paul said.
All human beings who live according to the flesh are children of the
Devil, and all who live according to the Spirit become children of God.
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,
Rom 8:6 the things of the
Spirit. 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. But you
are not in the flesh but in the Spirit,
Rom 8:9 if indeed the Spirit of
God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not
His.
Because the flesh is the domain of the Devil, those who live according
to the flesh are easy pray for his wiles.
The number one danger that comes from the Devil, after the temptations
of the flesh, is idolatry. From God’s
point of view, idolatry is a greater danger to human beings for it causes them
to commit spiritual adultery, and that sin is more difficult to repent of than
the sins of the flesh. For that is not
merely a matter of turning away from dumb and deaf images, but one of changing
one’s thoughts and frame of mind, and that is very difficult indeed. Why do you think people find it so hard to
depart from their idols and turn to the true God? One has to consider the fact that in the
Bible idolatry is more than just worshipping forbidden images; it comprises all
forms of disobedience to God.
I will never forget how I agonized for almost a year against my own
thoughts when I entered into conflict with the leaders of the Worldwide Church
of God some three decades ago when I was a member of that Church. Having been brainwashed into believing that
they were true ministers of Jesus Christ, and that that was the “only true
Church of God in the world”, I refused to contemplate any thoughts that did not
conform with their preaching, believing that they were coming from the Devil,
as they were telling us.
The truth was quite different.
God was trying to show me deadly scriptural errors on their part and I
was refusing to accept it. How could I
see things better then they did when I had been a member of that Church only
for a few short years while they for decades, not only as members but ministers
as well? Few people who have not
experienced such agony would understand what it means to struggle against your
own thoughts. In the end I had no choice
but give in and admit that I was seeing things better than they did. I feared that by breaching this subject with
them would cause them to expel me from that Church, which I did not want to
happen for I still believed that that was a true Church of God. I had the sense to see that although they
were false ministers of Jesus Christ, the milieu of the Church was conducive to
the discovery of the truth of God for those who were diligently seeking it and
were applying themselves to the study of the Bible. One of my stunning discoveries was that
although they were telling people to study the Bible, they were not practicing
what they were preaching.
The unwritten consensus in that Church, as in fact in most churches, was
that you studied the Scriptures to confirm what the preachers said, not to
confront them or discover new things. If
you ever saw things differently you needed to study even more, not so much the Bible as their own writings,
until you came to see things as they saw them.
Well, I did my very best to study both the Scriptures and their
writings, but the more I studied the more things I saw in which they were
wrong. In the end I did not care whether
they expelled me from their church or not, I had to tell them the truth and
happen what it may. That they expelled
me did not surprise me anymore, but the hatred with which they did it, and
their subsequent actions did. It was not
enough for them to disfellowship me from their
church, but they used the two people with whom I was sharing a flat to lock me
out and rob me of everything I possessed.
You have never felt real hated until you experienced it from church
people, from your own “brothers” in the faith.
When Jesus Christ said that they “travel land and sea to win one
proselyte, and when he is won, they make him twice as much a son of hell as
yourselves” He was not joking.
Now I would not care to remember or mention those things anymore, for
God Almighty has saved me from those troubles and helped achieve far more than
they ever will, but I do so because they are now creating even more problems
for us in a series of panicked attempts to derail us from this course. The method they are using now is to burden us
with false brethren, who are not satisfied to study our writings and follow our
advise, but demand all sorts of material support as well.
How they could imagine that two people who struggle to support a
worldwide work from their own pension could support them as well, we don’t
know. Nor do they understand that it is
not outsiders who decide who and when one becomes a member of this Foundation,
but Jesus Christ Himself. We are merely
in tune with his will and comply with His wishes.
Membership into this Foundation requires repentance, meekness, truth,
and righteousness, and we do not see such fruits on their part.
There are enough charitable organisations in the world to cater for the
needs of the poor; our role is different.
We have been called to restore the long lost Gospel of Jesus Christ, and
given enough resources to witness it to the world, a job we have done to the
very best of our abilities.
For a decade and a half we have hoped and encouraged people to join us,
and help us do a better and more widespread work, but none has done so. Then suddenly we find ourselves with
‘converts’ and people who claim to be members of our Foundation whom we have
never heard of or seen before. Even so
we would welcome them in our Foundation, except that from what we have seen so
far we are not convinced that their works reflect a true repentance.
Moreover, some of them are telling us that they are Sunday worshippers
when we have made it clear that Jesus’ followers are expected to be found, at
His return, observing the Sabbath (Mat. 24:20).
Our role is to cater to the spiritual needs of those who seek the truth
of God, not to comply with the traditions of men that are so widespread in the
churches of today.
This brings us back to the topic of the Commandments of God, and the
question of how relevant these are in the New Testament. For this we need to go back briefly to the
Old Testament, not to the writings of Moses, so beloved by the Jews, but to the
much later writings of Isaiah.
Isa 56:1 “Thus says the LORD: "Keep justice, and
do righteousness, For My salvation is about to come, And My righteousness to be
Isa 56:2 revealed.
Blessed is the man who does this, And the son of man who lays hold on
it; Who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,
And keeps his hand from doing any evil."
Blessed is the man who keeps himself from defiling the Sabbath. What man was this? Not the Israelite man, but the man of the
world. The Covenant of God was given to
Israel, but was intended for the whole world.
This was one of Israel’s greatest failures, for when God gave them His
laws He did not mean that they had to implode among themselves and hide that
law from the world. They were to be an
example to the world, showing other human beings the kind of blessings and
protection they too would enjoy if they embraced that law.
Isaiah’s prophecy was addressing the whole world not only the
Israelites.
Isa 56:3 “Do not let the son of the foreigner Who has
joined himself to the LORD speak, saying, "The LORD has utterly separated
me from His people"; Nor let the eunuch say, "Here I am, a dry
tree."
Isa 56:4 For thus says the LORD: "To the eunuchs
who keep My Sabbaths, And choose what pleases Me, And hold fast My
Isa 56:5 covenant,
Even to them I will give in My house And within My walls a place and a
name Better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting
name That shall not be cut off.
Isa 56:6 "Also
the sons of the foreigner Who join themselves to the LORD, to serve Him, And to
love the name of the LORD, to be His servants; Everyone who keeps from defiling
the Sabbath, And holds fast My covenant;
Isa 56:7 Even them I will bring to My holy mountain,
And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their
sacrifices Will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations."
Lev 24:22 'You shall have the same law for the stranger and for one from your own
country; for I am the LORD your God.'"
Now if a foreigner went to Israel today and told Jewish leaders that he
would like to live among them and be treated like one of them, do you think they
would embrace him and treat him as such?
They are hardly more obedient to God now than they were in ancient
time. And they wonder that they never
get the blessings and protection that God promised them long ago. Apparently they do not give equal rights to
their own people who turn to Christ, let alone to foreigners who may want to
follow Him. Have the Jews ever stopped
to consider these words of Moses?
Deu
If Jesus Christ is not that Prophet, would they pray tell us who might
he be? We hope they have come around
from the apostasy of believing that that Lubavitcher
rabbi, who encouraged them to think that he was somebody and died crippled and
in his sins, is their “Mossiach”. Refusal to believe their own Scriptures,
about a quarter of which clearly identify Jesus as the Messiah, does not
nullify this fact nor spare them of the need for deep repentance.
We find it incredible that they cling on to the Old Testament even after
seeing the light, insights, and incomparable advantages of the New
Testament. All their sins – failure to conform with the tenets of the Old
Testament, failure to treat foreigners who settled in their midst as their own,
failure to turn the House of God into a House of Prayer for all nations – would be wiped out overnight if they repented,
acknowledged their errors, and became members of the new elect of God.
Their current theology, which hardly conforms with the Old Testament let
alone with the Bible as a whole, is extremely inadequate. And it cannot be otherwise for the Bible
without the Holy Spirit is no longer the World of God. Yet they cling on to the Old Testament
determinedly and as a result they continue to reap the rewards of their
unbelief and lack of repentance.
This is the malaise of modern academic theologians too. They think they can understand the Bible and
God’s plan for mankind by dismissing the relevance of the Holy Spirit. They specialise in peripheral aspects of the
Bible – who wrote it, when and in what conditions – but are not particularly
knowledgeable of its content. And it
cannot be otherwise since they ignore the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does not come to human beings
on the basis of titles and qualifications, but on the basis of repentance,
prayer, worship, and meditation of the law of God, and these are anathema in
academic circles. One can hardly think
of a better example of the blind leading the blind. Even documented historical facts about the
Bible are no longer kosher with those people.
The biblical “documentaries” that have been coming out from those
quarters recently are nothing but exercises in ignorance and incursions into
demonism and spiritual darkness. I would
never watch those programs anymore if I did not need to keep myself informed
for the sake of this work. Those who
have no such need are far better never looking at them.
The Jews keep blaming Christianity for their troubles during the two
thousand years of Diaspora and for the Holocaust. Christianity had nothing to do with it. False Christians did all these things, the
same that have been a thorn on the side of true Christian for centuries. We find it extraordinary that even after we
have conclusively proved to them that the Christianity of Jesus Christ had
nothing to do with their pogroms, they continue to blame His followers for
their problems. What the mainstream
churches have taken to the world IS NOT the Gospel of Jesus Christ but a false
gospel. The Commandments of God were
meant to form the basis upon which the New Testament was built, yet those
churches have not only been telling their people that the Commandments of God have
been done away with, but have been persecuting those who have remained faithful
to the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. These
churches have been saying that the Ten Commandments have been substituted with the
general Commandment to love one’s neighbour as oneself. Well, this is true, but this Commandment
does not do away with the Ten Commandments; rather it augments and builds upon
them. One cannot love his neighbour as
himself if he does not keep all of
the other Commandments of God. If that
were the case we would see a lot more love and a lot less war in the world
today, but as it is, people keep neither the Ten Commandments nor love their
neighbour as themselves.
Let us now go to Jesus Christ, the founder of the New Testament, and
have Him speak to us on this matter.
Mat
Mat
Mat
Is that clear enough? One cannot reach the
Yes, without God’s Commandments neither salvation nor genuine joy are possible. Now
least people may wonder what Commandments Jesus was referring to, He recorded
this incident in the Scriptures for us.
Mat
Mat
Mat
Mat
Mat
Mat
Mat
Mat
If you want to enter into life, KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS. What Jesus Christ was telling us here is that
what we have in this world is not life but misery, that only by keeping the
Commandments can one attain true life and salvation.
He listed only the last six Commandments, the ones that deal with man’s
relationship to man, and left out the first four which deal with man’s
relationship with God, not because the first are not important, for they are
more important than the last, but because the last six are in the power of
human beings and are prerequisites for the first. In other words, those who brake the last six
Commandments have little chance of keeping the first, of coming near God, and
of knowing Him.
John 17:3 "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have
sent.”
Jesus said that His sacrifice was necessary for the arrival of the Holy
Spirit, without whom no one could know God.
John 16:8 "And when He has
come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.”
The Helper, the Holy Spirit, is being sent by God to those who repent
and follow His Son, and to no one else.
Anyone can prove this fact by repenting, turning to a righteous life,
and joining the elect of God. If he will
not feel more joy and happiness than he has ever felt in life, he is free to
leave and go back to the “pleasures” (enslavement) of this world. Unlike other people, Christians do not kill
those who depart from their midst and go after other gods and other
religions. Such self-inflicted
punishment is enough for them. We
conclude with the immortal words of Jesus Christ, the One and Only true Savior of the world.
The ‘Strictly Secret’
Communist Manifesto
The following document was sent from Moscow in 1947 to the newly formed
communist governments of Eastern Europe.
One of those Governments was that of Romania. The document came to life in late 1990s when
Romanian democratic parties managed to wrest power briefly from the party of
the former communists, the PSD. We have
done our very best to translate it accurately and retain its intended
meaning.
“Strictly Secret”
Moscow, 2.6.1947
K AA/CC 113
NK/003/47
1. Embassies are forbidden to
receive on their territories the natives who work for us as informers. They will be met by special service agents
who are specifically trained and assigned to do this job. Their information will be passed on to the
Embassies through these agents.
2. All measures must be taken to
prevent the establishment of any links between our soldiers and local
population. It is inadmissible for our
officers to visit the natives in their homes; also, it is inadmissible for the
simple soldiers to establish relations with native women. It is inadmissible the establishment of
relations between our soldiers and the civilian population, inclusive with
native soldiers.
3. It must accelerated the liquidation of citizens who maintain links, unauthorised by us, with the Communist
Party, the Socialist Party, the Youth Communist Organisation, or with the Army
and other associations. (Throughout this
translation Italics are in the original).
4. In military campaigns against the opposition will take part those
soldiers who have spent time on our territory [
5. There must be an acceleration of the process of unification of all
parties under a single umbrella, making
sure that all leading roles are taken by people who belong to our secret
services.
6. It is necessary the unification of all youth organisations. Positions
of leadership will be given to people who are approved by our special
services.
7. It should be organized and ensured that functionaries who are
deputised to participate in congregational meetings, cannot complete their
mandate for the entire period for which they have been elected. Deputies cannot under any circumstances
convene meetings between institutions.
If another solution cannot be found and a meeting must be convened, it
should be ensured that those who had grievances and been active in calling the
meeting in order to put forward their own concepts, are sidelined and prevented
from carrying out their agenda. For
every congress there must be new people who are prepared for this purpose, but
only those who have been endorsed by our secret services.
8. Special attention must be paid to those with organizing capabilities,
with sure chances of popularity. These
people must be coopted, but if they are opposing it, they must not be given
superior hierarchical positions.
9. It must be ensured
that State officials (excluding Securitate organs and those working in the
mining industry) will receive small retributions. This must be especially the case with those
working in the areas of health, justice, and culture, respective those in
positions of leadership. [Emphasis added
throughout].
10. In all governmental
institutions, respective in the majority of factories, we must have people who cooperate with our special services
(without the knowledge of the local administrative organs).
11. It shall be strictly watched that local press does not publicise
statistics regarding the quality and variety of the goods that are made
available. It is not permissible that
this activity be called commerce. It
must be made clear that we are talking simply of goods exchange.
12. Pressure must be exercised on
local authorities to ensure that no documents are issued which prove ownership
of land; the documents will show the quality of the land in use, but not who
owns it.
13. The politics of the little
country garden must follow this course in order to render the particular garden
unprofitable. After that,
collectivisation must begin in earnest.
In the case of strong opposition, there must be a reduction in the
distribution of the mechanisms of production, concomitant with an increase of
State taxes. If the desired outcome is
not achieved, it must be ensured that agricultural output will not satisfy the
country’s food needs, so that additional imports are needed.
14. All effort must be made to ensure that the decisions and orders – be
they of judicial, economic or organisational
– are unpunctual.
15. Every effort must be made to
ensure that certain cases are discussed concomitant in a number of commissions,
offices and institutions, but without any having the right to take decisions
without the consent of the others (with the exception of the mining industry).
16. Administrative bodies cannot exercise any influence over the
activities in their own factories. All
they can do is to put in practice decisions taken higher up.
17. The syndicates have no right
to oppose the administration. They must
occupy themselves with other matters, such as the organisation of leisure
activities in vacations, discussion of pension requests, cultural and
entertaining programs, organisation of excursions, distribution of defective
goods, the justification of points of view and decisions taken by the political
organs of the administration.
18. It must be organised that only those leaders be promoted who execute
impeccably the problems assigned them, but who do not go beyond their
particular sphere of activity.
19. In regard to the natives that work for the Party, the State, or in
administration, conditions must be created for them to be compromised in the
face of employees, so that it would be impossible for them to return to their
former positions.
20. Native military cadres could
be given positions of responsibility in places where people in our special
services have already been placed.
21. When army exercises are held, and on the occasion of shooting
practices, a strict control must be maintained on the quantity of munitions
used, regardless of the type of arms.
22. Every laboratory and research
institute must be kept under observation.
23. Great attention must be given
to inventors and innovators, and their activity supported and encouraged, but
every invention must be registered with consistency at the centre. It is permissible the development of only
those inventions that have applicability in the mining industry, or those that
have our special permission. It is not permissible the development of
inventions that would ensure the growth in the production of finite goods, a
reduction in the extraction of prime materials, or which would interfere with
the fulfilment of our decisions. If an
invention had become known, measures must be taken to be sold to
foreigners. The documents regarding the
value and the description of the invention must not be made public.
24. The punctuality of the means of transport must be perturbed (less those which conform with the directive
NK 552-46).
25. In the factories in which professional meetings and conferences are
organised, an account must be kept of all proposals, including their authors.
26. Discussions with the workers that are in charge of solving
production problems must be popularized, particularly those which criticise the
past and current problems. Such issues
must never be set aside from discussion.
27. Taking of positions by native leaders could have nationalistic or
historical coloratura, and they can lead to national unity.
28. Great attention must be paid that
under no circumstances must there be water networks that are not linked to the
main network in residential districts that are under construction. Old unconnected channels and independent
fountains of water must be systematically liquidated, in time.
29. The reconstruction of old industrial objectives and the construction of
new ones must be made in such a way that their residual materials are deposited
in water reservoirs which could be used as reserves of potable water.
30. In cities that are reconstructed or newly constructed, it is not
admissible to have excessive spaces that could be used to hold animals for an
extended period, or for the deposit of foods.
31. Industries that are held
privately and personal entrepreneurs must receive only enough prime materials
and utilities that ensure their failure to produce quality products. The price for their goods must be bigger than
for similar products from State institutions.
32. The expansion of State enterprises must be of the highest order and
facilitated in all domains. It is
permissible the criticizing of administrative organs, but under no
circumstances will a reduction in personnel of in their normal functioning be
allowed.
33. Great care must be taken
towards all projects of production in the mining industry, including in those
institutions that are specifically marked as such. Care must be taken in preventing good
provision of the international market too.
34. Special attention must be
accorded to churches. Cultural-educative
activities must be directed towards creating general antipathy towards
them. It is necessary to keep under observation church printing workshops,
archives, preaching content, songs, all religious education, but also burial ceremonies.
35. Popular professors in elementary and special schools, but especially
in lyceums and faculties, must be removed.
Their places must be taken by appointed people. An analysis must be
undertaken of their programs, with a reduction in the number of documentaries. In lyceums there must be a complete removal
of studies of Latin and Greek languages, general philosophy, logic and genetics. In regard to the teaching of history, it must never be pointed out which rulers
have served, or wanted to serve, the good of the country. What must be emphasized instead is the
conniving of the rulers and the struggle of the oppressed masses. In specialty schools must be introduced a
narrow curricula.
36. Initiatives must be taken to organise activities of artistic or
sporting nature which celebrate the struggle of the natives against invaders
(especially the Germans, but excluding the Russians) and popularize the
struggle for socialism.
37. On the local scene, it is forbidden the appearance of productions
about natives that lived with us [USSR] before or during the Second World
War.
38. If an organization is formed
that supports an alliance with us, but at the same time insists over
maintaining control over economic activities and official leadership, a
campaign of condemnation must be immediately commenced accusing it of
nationalism and chauvinism. This must be
done in the following manner: profanation of graves that belong to us,
destruction of cemeteries, spreading of manifestos that are defamatory to our
nation and culture, and the rising of doubts about contracts made with us. Native people must be involved in this
propaganda work, channelling their hatred towards these organisations.
39. Particular attention must be
given to the construction and reconstruction of roads, bridges, and
interconnecting routes, so that in case there is need for armed intervention,
the places of resistance and concentration of reactionary forces can be
accessible from all sides.
40. Attention must be given to
imprisoning the representatives of the political opposition. Particular attention must be given to those
opponents that are popular with the native population. Before they could imprint themselves in the
conscience of the native masses, they must be liquidated through so-called unforseen circumstances or imprisoned
and accused of common crimes.
41. It must be prevented the rehabilitation of those who were condemned in
political processes. If it becomes
inevitable, such rehabilitation is permissible on the pretext that it was a
judicial mistake; no reopening of their process must occur, and no convocation
of those who accused them in the first place.
42. Leaders named by the party, who through their activity have caused
dissatisfaction among employees, must not be brought before judicial
courts. In extreme cases, they will be
recalled from function, and named in similar or superior positions. In the end, they must be placed in leadership
positions and kept under consideration as reserve cadres for the period of
ulterior changes.
43. It shall be brought to the knowledge of the public those persons in
leadership positions (in the first place those from the army, ministerial
positions, important services, academic cadres) who are accused of hostile
attitude towards the people, socialism, industrialization. It is an action that must attract the ire of
the popular masses.
44. Those who work in various
[professional] functions must be removed and replaced with workers of the
poorest professional preparation, or unqualified.
45. Priority for university
studies must be given to those who belong to the lowest social classes, who are
not interested in further specialisation, but only in obtaining a diploma.”
(Translated from, Vladimir Alexe, Ion Iliescu - Biografia
Secreta, Annex 9,
If there ever was a document from Hell, conceived by the Devil and his
cronies, this certainly must be it.
Communism had nothing to do with creating a utopia of well fed, well
clothed, happy and contented individuals, and everything to do with creating an
atheist hell of hungry, cold, suspicious, fearful and discontented individuals,
with no God other than their own belly. Now
we can see and understand why communist leaders were such insensitive
hypocrites. Only one who had no
compunction about lying, spying, denouncing and setting people against each
other could have become a leader; one who had no feeling of compassion for his
suffering compatriots; who had become so hated by his co-workers that he could
never return to work in their midst again.
And they wonder that the system came to such a crashing end.
If one had not lived through it, or seen it with his own eyes, he would
have a hard time believing that human beings could come up with such a
system. Those who have not lived through
it and may still have doubts whether it was as evil as that should visit the
remaining communist tyrannies –
Contrary to the claim that communism meant to do away with the class system, it reinforced a rigid hierarchical bureaucratic
system like no other in history, one which engendered hatred and suspicion at
every step and level of society.
A documentary film about Stalin showed how he was so obsessed with the
fear of poisoning and murder, that he had his breakfast tasted and delivered on
trays at the doors of three different apartments so as to prevent anyone from
knowing exactly in which one he could be found at any one time.
What a life! Not to have a single
person of trust near you. Even those
closest to him abandoned him when they saw what kind of person he was: his wife
committed suicide early in his reign, and his daughter fled his ‘paradise’ to
the hated capitalist West. Any wonder that he became such a blood
thirsty monster. He used to send out his
secret service agents to murder a certain number of people to serve as examples
to those who were reluctant to embrace communism. The agents knew that they would endear
themselves to him by exceeding and even doubling that number. And we are not talking of just a few people,
but of thousands upon thousands. The
total number of communist victims in
Hundreds of millions of people worldwide were sacrificed on the altar of
communism, and millions more were duped into giving their life willingly for
what they thought was a worthy cause.
One can only imagine their bewilderment at seeing what had become of
their dream when they will be brought up in the resurrected for the judgment.
Students of history ought to study afresh the communist ideology in
light of these revelations. But does anyone imagine that leftist ideologues who have penetrated educational institutions all over the
world would include this document in their curricula? Why should they be more honest and conscious
than their revered communist masters?
We would not be surprised if they declare this document to be a forgery,
as they did with The Protocols of the
Elders of Zion, together of which form the blueprint for communism. Amazon.com, the largest online bookshop,
withstood enormous pressure from Jewish quarters to stop publishing that
document. They refused it in the name of
freedom of expression. One suspects that
they also did it because they believe it to be true and historical.
The Protocols of the
Elders of Zion was also meant to remain secret,
but once brought to light their only option was to declare it a forgery. But there are a number of things that
mitigate for its authenticity. 1) Upon
reading it one simply does not get the feeling that it is a forgery. It is too complex and scholarly a document to
be a deliberate forgery. 2) How could
it be a forgery when the communist systems that ensued in
The march to an atheist new world order has never stoped, only the means
for achieving it have.
Local politicians are scarcely able to enact the will of their people
anymore. They are mere pions on a worldwide chess table that seeks to do away
with peoples freedoms of speech, freedom of worship
and of conscience, in the name of “human rights”. Human rights for
lawbreakers and blasphemers, not for decent law abiding citizens. Consider this: A court in
The courts uphold the “human rights” of homosexuals at the expense of
human rights for Christians. And to
think that that legislation was supported by the churches! When God says that such countries will have
little chance of surviving the Great Tribulation into the Millennial Kingdom of
Jesus Christ, they think that this is a joke.
How painfully they will discover the truth at that time, but it will be
too late. Those who think that that
event is far off into the future will have another painful realisation soon.
Very soon!
Having failed to reform the world by means of violent revolutions, the
enemies of God are now putting their efforts into subverting society through
the law, the media, education, entertainment industries, and, of all things,
the churches.
Examples of outrageous miscarriages of justice, common in this country
as I am sure they are in yours, are not mere happenstances, but a well
established agenda that serves two purposes: to silver line the pockets of
lawyers with further litigation, and to create social unrest and optimum
conditions for hypocrites to rise to the top and demand reforms that further
the interests of the new world order.
More than any other people, judges now play the role of social
reformers. The fact that people and
their elected representatives are becoming exasperated by their interpretation
of the law seems to be of little concern to them. Their aim is to homogenise local laws into a
worldwide legal system that serves the goal of the new atheist world
order. Here is a sample of their work.
“Judge rejects ban on
gays”
“The testimony and evidence overwhelmingly showed that there was no
rational relationship between the . . .
blanket exclusion (of gays) and the health, safety and welfare of the
foster Children,” Mr Fox said. ( The Daily Telegraph,
Demands for legal reform, usually fomented by God haters, are answered
with laws that further curtail people’s freedoms and take the world further
away from God, from His laws, and the just society that His laws would
engender.
If carried out equitably and honestly, globalisation would be beneficial
for the world, for it would spread out the benefits of fair pay for equal
amount of work from the developed to the developing countries. As it is, workers in the developing world, who
are lucky enough to have a job, get a fraction of what their counterparts in
the developed world get.
An equitable system will operate in the Millennium Kingdom of God when
work will be valued equally everywhere.
Those who push for a new world order now do so not to prepare the world
for the
Rev 17:14 "These will make
war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and
King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and
faithful."
From Moldova To Chechnya
What One Sows Is What He Reaps
Beslan, a tiny town
in Russia’s southern province of North Ossetia, has
become known around the world as a result of an Islamic terrorist attack in
September 2004 that left hundreds of children dead or injured.
“Moscow: Schools in the southern Russian republic of North Ossetia
are to resume today except for Beslan, the scene of a
hostage drama in which 339 people died, local officials said. In Beslan itself,
schools will reopen tomorrow, except for School No. 1 where the hostage seizure
took place. These children are with
their parents in rest homes, where they will attend classes but also receive
psychological back-up. The other schools in Beslan
will be inspected before they reopen.”
(The Daily Telegraph,
September 14, 2004).
What the world does not know is that while Russian children were dying
in North Ossetia, an almost similar tragedy was
taking place in another part of Russia’s Commonwealth of Independent
States.
Transnistria “A campaign for
donations began today for the orphans who are being starved by the Russian
gendarmes of Igor Smirnov. Donations of
money or food, clothes and books should be brought to the Hall of the Bucharest
Palace. For almost a month now, 70
school children have barricaded themselves in their school against Russian
gendarmes who want to expel them and annihilate any Romanian identity in the
province of Transnistria. The campaign is supported by the Youth
Romanian League, National Journal, newspaper Ziua,
Association of Civic Media, Romanian Global News, World Romanian Council, and
others. The World Romanian Council also started an on line petition at www.petitiononline.com/nistru/
which they intend to send to the United Nations, European Union, the White
House, the USA Congress, and other world bodies.” (Ziua, August 20, 2004).
“Chisinau: “The European Organisation for Security and
Cooperation, OSCE, says that separatist Russians who want to create an
independent State in Transnistria, a province of the
Republic of Moldova, have thrown out into the street thousands of Moldovan
children and closed down their schools. The separatists of Igor Smirnov have no
intention of suspending the victimisation of Romanians from Transnistria.
More than a thousand students, of both primary and secondary schools,
have been refused access to their schools.
At the end of June, even orphan children from boarding schools, were
thrown out into the street by Russian gendarmes.
“We demand that separatist leader, Igor Smirnov, respects his promise to
reopen the Romanian schools from Transnistria, and
permit them to function normally”, said William Dell, OSCE Ambasador
in Chisinau. Although Moldovan,
Romanian, American and European authorities have demanded several times that Russian separatists from
The difference between Beslan and Transnistria is that those who were victims in one place
were perpetrators in the other. Beslan made the world
media and Moldova did not, because Russia is what it is and Moldova is
not. President Putin of Russia, whose
country extends over nine time zones, felt that he did not have enough land and
wanted a little bit more. So he decided
to take it from the smallest and weakest member of the ‘Commonwealth of
Independent States’, and create another Russian enclave, like the one in
Kaliningrad.
A man of faith that he is, President Putin was seen worshiping in a
glittering Russian Orthodox Church alongside the Russian Orthodox Patriarch in
the aftermath of the Beslan massacre. The Patriarch, a man of love and piety, saw
what Mr Putin was doing to his brothers in the faith from Transnistria
and did not like it. So he showed him how
he ought to deal with them.
“Romanian Orthodox Church persecuted on the eastern
side of the river Prut” “The Orthodox Church of Basarabia,
which is associated with Moscow, has began an intense campaign of persecution
against the Romanian priests of Moldova who want to affiliate with the Romanian
Orthodox Church. The campaign has gone
as far as burning down their churches.
Priest Roman Galben was assaulted several
times, the last time so severely that he ended up in hospital fighting for his
life. His Church, “The Descending of the
Holy Spirit’, was burned down to the ground.
Roman Galben informed the police of what
happened to him and his church, but they told him that they were not interested
in his problems. They mockingly suggested that he ought to forgive his
assailants. The priest was assaulted again and warned that next time he will be
killed if he insists on seeking affiliation with the Romanian Patriarchy. (Ziua, September
22, 2004).
Mr Putin got the message. He knew
that if the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church was doing the same and did not
condemn him for what he was doing in Transnistria, no
one else in the world would. After all,
did the world care much when Hitler annexed the Sudetenland from
Czechoslovakia? Of course there is a big
difference between Hitler and Mr Putin.
For with all the evil that he created in the world, Hitler is not
personally identified in the Bible; Mr Putin is. (See the article ‘The
Beats Of Revelation’ in The Christian Herald No 4).
About two and a half centuries
ago, when the British and the French were fighting in Canada, the French send
word to their king that unless he was sending reinforcements he would loose
Quebec. The king is said to have replied
that when one’s house is on fire he does not worry about the stables. Little do the Europeans know that the fire
from their eastern stable will soon engulf their homes too.
A wise man once said that if
might is right then Christ died in vain.
But might is not right, and Christ did not die in vain. He died so that those who have no hope and
are week, may have hope and a defender.
Moldavian Christians value life and do not fight dirty like the Chechen
Islamists. Mr Putin will soon discover
that when he took on the gentle but hapless Moldavians, he bit more than he can
chew.
There was an unexpected corollary to this story. The Republic of Moldova refused to take part
in the next meeting of Russia’s Commonwealth of Independent States. That reduced their number from eleven to ten. Ten is the number of countries Russia will
lead against Israel in the end time. In
biblical prophecies, Israel is not just the nation of Judah, which the Jews
have somewhat erroneously called ‘Israel’, but the nations that come from all
tribes of Israel, and that means virtually all of Europe plus the Anglo-Saxon
nations of the world. It seems that the
end time Great Tribulation will be primarily between the countries that have
inherited
The Republic of Moldova has been making tentative steps to come back
into the bosom of its mother country. It
is best if they do not hurry. That friendly, gentle, musical, poetic, Latin
culture, deserves to be preserved, and since Romania has little chance of
surviving the coming world vortex, that hope remains with Moldova. Romania’s agents of death – the Securitate
men – have struck a deadly blow against us during Iliescu’s
regime. They shamelessly continue to
interfere with our work as if to say, ‘see, there is nothing you can do to
prevent us from doing what we want’. So
twisted are that country’s judicial and investigative systems, that even after
we exposed the murder of my mother to the world, her murderers have not so much
as even been asked a question, let alone being brought to justice.
The new President, Traian
Basescu, vowed to wage war against the country’s entrenched corruption, and to
clean its judicial, administrative and security systems. We wish him well and pray for
his success, but we are not too confident that he will succeed in the short
time that he has. One of the country’s
main newspapers said that unless he removes the heads of that “cancerogen
gangrene” within a month he will suffer a similar fate as the former President,
Constantinescu, who barely survived one term in power (ZIUA, Dec. 31, 2004).
If the country is to have any chance of surviving the impending wrath of
God it must get rid of Dracula Park without delay, and bring to justice the
criminals that have struck against this work.
No country that has been dedicated to Dracula and persecuted the
servants of God can hope to survive the Great Tribulation and make it into the
Millennial Kingdom of Jesus Christ. We warned Romania that it does not have two
thousand years of history
to recover from the abyss like Israel did, but its leaders have
not heeded our warning. Now they and the
nation will have to face the consequences.
It is that serious. We have not
put our lives in danger for the sake of an ego trip, but because necessity has
been laid upon us. Jesus Christ is the
Life and the Foundation of this work.
Anyone who strikes against this work strikes against Him, and He will
not be crucified a second time.
Of An Atheist Ideology
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990 after seventy years of tyranny,
it seemed to us impossible that such an important historical event would not
have a prophetic meaning. Yet after
more than two decades of theological and historical studies, we had never come
across any credible work that would put communism in a proper prophetic
context. We say credible because there
are plenty of writings about the Soviet Union that are not worth the paper they
are written on.
I remember how soon after arriving in Australia some thirty years ago, I
was waiting for a train at a Brisbane station when I noticed a billboard
headline on another platform saying, “Russia Invades Israel.” I was shocked because there was no major
international crisis to justify such an invasion. I was convinced that we were on the brink of
a nuclear war, for that act could not be left unanswered by the West. I was puzzled that everybody was still going
about as if nothing serious had happened, until I rushed over and read the
small print. That was not a newspaper
headline as I thought, but the prophetic surmising of a church called the “Christadelphians”. It was their belief that communist
Russia was about to strike Israel any time.
So sure were they of this fact that they did not even speak of it as a
possible future event, but as if it were an already accomplished fact. I cannot begin to tell you how angry I was,
not the least because while rushing to read their poster, I lost my train. Being a weekend, when the trains were not
running too often, I had to wait another half an hour or until the next train
arrived.
Now it is an undeniable prophetic fact that Russia will one day make war
against Israel, but the historical context was not ripe for such an event. Besides, what people fail to understand is
that when the Bible speaks of the countries of the far north coming against
Israel, it does not refer only to that tiny state in the Middle East, but to
all the countries that came out of the tribes of Israel, and that means Europe,
the USA, and the white Anglo-Saxon nations of the world. That will occur in the end time, the time of
the Great Tribulation spoken of by Jesus Christ, and I knew that there were yet
a few prophecies which needed to be fulfilled before that could happen. (Prophecies which have been
fulfilled by now, or are in the process of being fulfilled).
It is interesting to note at this point that the Worldwide Church of God
and its siblings have been preaching for decades that there never will be a war
between Russia and the USA, because “it is not in prophecy” and because Germany
still represents their mortal danger.
Until, that is, we showed them this prophecy of Zechariah.
Zec 9:13 “For I have bent Judah, My bow, Fitted the
bow with Ephraim, And raised up your sons, O Zion, Against your sons, O Greece,
And made you like the sword of a mighty man."
Everybody knows who the sons of Zion are, but few people knew that ‘sons
of Greece’ in prophecy refers to the countries of the Orthodox Church, whose
strongest member is by far Russia. (See
details in The Christian Herald No 13).
Now these churches are preaching a different tune, without, of course,
giving credit to whom credit is due for their change
of mind. But then, do thieves and
charlatans acknowledge their act when they steal things from others? The prophecy about the Great Tribulation is
still in the future, short or long as that may be, but we were interested in
placing the collapse of the Soviet Union in a prophetic context, and that was
in the past, an already accomplished fact.
For an event that had reverberated around the world, it proved to be a
surprisingly difficult task, until we came across some very important
clues.
The first one came when a television documentary revealed Russia’s links
to a Viking historical past. Russia’s
underground archives contain many Viking memorabilia, which the communist
leaders did their best to keep from public view. Biblical scholars rightly believe that
Scandinavian people, from where the Vikings originated, are of Israelite stock,
descendants of the so-called lost Ten Tribes of Israel. But for reasons which they have never fully
explained, theologians have divided Europe roughly along the lines of the Iron
Curtain: the capitalist West versus the communist East, the goodies versus the
baddies, the noble Israelites versus the second class Gentiles. In so doing they have blinded themselves to
prophetic facts which unmistakably place Russia within the bounds of
Israel.
Many of Russia’s leaders before communism, and just as many during
communism, were of Israelite or Jewish stock.
The second clue came when we discovered that the famous Cossack warriors
of Russia are of Israelite origin, their name being a derivative of Isaacs, or
sons of Isaac in the local dialect.
And the third clue came with the discovery of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the
Jewish blueprint for a new world order.
The Russian Revolution, like the French, and to some extent the
American, was nothing but an attempt by Israelite Freemasonry to free
themselves from the strictures of religious dogma, particularly the Catholic
one, and create an atheist world state.
The Jews held the most important positions in the first Bolshevik
Government. The ideology was theirs, those
in charge of the army and secret services were Jews, and the Jews played important
roles in setting up the communist governments of eastern Europe too.
The communist utopia was nothing but a perversion of the biblical
concept of the Kingdom of God. When they
departed from the Law and the Covenant of God, and God instituted a New
Covenant and shifted the emphasis from an earthly to a heavenly kingdom,
instead of conforming with the requirements for the new “elect of God”, the
Israelites in general, and the Jews in particular, decided that they will set
up their own Kingdom of Israel on earth.
The Israelite’s predilection to follow their own way was manifested very
early in their history. First they would
refuse to obey God, then when He told them that they would be punished and told
to do something else, they would want to do what they should have done at first
even though God did not want them to do that anymore and told them to do
something else.
They were defeated when they presumed to do what God did not want them
to do anymore. They repeated that kind
of rebellion later on with Joshua.
Josh 24:13 'I have given you a
land for which you did not labor, and cities which
you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of the vineyards and olive
groves which you did not plant.'
Josh 24:16 So the people answered and said: "Far be
it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods;
Josh 24:19 But Joshua said to the
people, "You cannot serve the LORD,
for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your
transgressions nor your sins. [Joshua
understood the principle of two kinds of people in the world, which did not
become apparent until Jesus Christ elaborated upon it in His parables and
teachings, but he could not explain it to the Israelites at that time].
Josh 24:20
"If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He
will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good.
Josh 24:21 "And the people said to Joshua, "No,
but we will serve the LORD!"
Josh 24:22 So Joshua said to the
people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the
LORD for yourselves, to serve Him." And they said, "We are
witnesses!"
Josh 24:23 "Now
therefore," he said, "put away the foreign gods which are among you,
and incline your heart to the LORD God of
Josh 24:26 Then Joshua wrote
these words in the Book of the Law of God.
And he took a large stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by
the sanctuary of the LORD.
Josh 24:27 And Joshua said to all
the people, "Behold, this stone shall be a witness to us, for it has heard
all the words of the LORD which He spoke to us. It shall therefore be a witness
to you, lest you deny your God."
Josh 24:28 So Joshua let the
people depart, each to his own inheritance.
Josh 24:29 Now it came to pass
after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died,
being one hundred and
As soon as Joshua and the elders who knew him disappeared from the
scene, the Israelites broke the promise they made to him and the Covenant they
made with God. It was a habit that would
remain with them to the present time, keeping promises when it suited them, and
going their own ways when it didn’t.
They behaved exactly the same way with Jesus Christ too. They rejected His Messiahship
because He would not free them from the Roman domination and would not set up
‘the Kingdom of Israel’ right then and there.
Then, when they realised what they had done, and that they were no
longer the ‘chosen people’, they decided to set up their own ‘kingdom of
Israel’, and make themselves ‘chosen people’.
They had been fighting for that dream for two thousand years. They thought that they had accomplished it in
Soviet Russia, but instead they created an atheist hell on earth.
Now there is a problem with including Russia among the descendants of
Israel. (Certainly not all people of the
Russian Federation are descendants of Israel; only those of European Russia,
and most likely not all of them either).
The problem comes in relation with the prophecy about “
Jacob’s trouble”.
Jer 30:7 “Alas!
For that day is great, So that none is like it; And it is the time of Jacob's
trouble, But he shall be saved out of it.”
It used to be generally assumed among those who dabbled in biblical
prophecies that the Great Tribulation would pit the descendants of Jacob
against the Gentile world. But if Russia
is included among the Israelites, this can no longer be the case. Rather, what now appears more and more likely
is that the Great Tribulation will pit some tribes of Israel against other
tribes of Israel that have allied themselves with the Gentile world. More precisely, the tribes that came out of
Joseph, which have inherited Jacob primogeniture blessings, and on which Jacob
put his name – the Anglo-Saxons – plus Judah who inherited the spiritual
sceptre, will find themselves facing the other tries of Israel and the rest of
the world. In other words, that awesome
end time conflict will be a repeat on a larger scale of what happened in ancient
world when Joseph’s brothers ganged up against him and sold him into Egyptian
Slavery. The outcome however, though
painful on all sides, will be quite different this time, for God says that
Jacob will be saved out of it”, which He does not says
of any other nation.
This however still does not quite answers our question about the place
in prophecy of the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Since many of
But before we look at those prophecies, we need some important
clarifications. Virtually all biblical
prophecies have dual fulfilments: a
minor and immediate one, and a major and more distant one. Names such as
If one were to take these terms literally, he would be searching forever
for Chaldea, Babylon, Tyre, and others, which are no
longer on the scene but which feature prominently in prophecies that lead to
the very end time. All these terms need
to be placed in prophetic and historic contexts that are quite different from
the ones tat may appear at first sight.
Even ‘Jerusalem’ could mean more than the capital of Judea, often
incorporating Jews who lived in territories outside Judea. Without accepting the principle of duality in
the Bible, one would never be able to understand its prophecies. For example, we have the Old Testament and
the New Testament; the first Adam – a fallen man and the second Adam – a saving
One; the Devil versus Christ, an earthly Kingdom and an
heavenly
Another point to be remembered when discussing biblical prophecies, is that the term ‘end time’ could mean up to a
century or more. For us that may seem
quite a long time, but in God’s scheme of things it is but a drop in the
ocean. It is a specific prophetic and
historical context that identifies and determines when a prophecy is being
fulfilled. With these in mind we can
now look at some of the prophecies that speak of a seventy year period that can
only refer to communist Russia.
The mention of seventy years would make little sense if applied to the
ancient city by that name because Tyre existed for far longer than seventy
years. Rather, this prophecy could only
refer to an easily identifiable period in history, and we can think of no other
time in which this seventy years period could apply. Since we are now coming to the wrapping up of
all prophecies, there could never be a time when this prophecy could be
fulfilled in the future either.
Moreover, since elsewhere in the Bible the king of Tyre stands for the
Devil and his rebellion against God, it is only fitting that the seventy year
period of communist Russia be identified with the Devils rule on earth. After all, what was the Soviet Union if not a
demonic rebellion against God?
The term ‘in that day’ confirms
that this prophecy takes us to the end time or close to it, for that is the
time of God’s vengeance upon a wayward world, the time of the Great
Tribulation. The world has been in the
preceding stages to that catastrophe ever since the Soviet Union collapsed. Is
it not remarkable that that coincided with the beginning of the work of
restoration of the long lost Gospel of Jesus Christ? Now back to Isaiah.
Isa 24:2 “And it shall be: As with the people, so with
the priest; As with the servant, so with his master; As with the maid, so with
her mistress; As with the buyer, so with the seller; As with the lender, so
with the borrower; As with the creditor, so with the debtor.
Isa 24:3 The land shall be entirely emptied and
utterly plundered, For the LORD has spoken this word.
Isa 24:4 The earth mourns and fades away, The world
languishes and fades away; The haughty people
of the earth languish.
The prophecy began with
Who has broken the covenant? The
Israelites, yet the whole world suffers as a result of it. Why? Because the Covenant was not only for
the Israelites, but for the entire world.
That is why we keep on telling people that they must keep the
Commandments of God, because these were not only for ancient Israel, but for
the whole world, and for all time.
Isa 24:19 “The earth is violently broken, The earth is
split open, The earth is shaken exceedingly.
Isa 24:20 The earth shall
reel to and fro like a drunkard, And shall totter like a hut; Its transgression
shall be heavy upon it,
Now why would the Lord punish the exalted ones and the kings of the
earth in that day? Revelation tells us why.
Instead of being happy that their Savior is
coming to fix this world and set up a righteous Kingdom, the “kings of the
earth” are planing to fight him at his return.
Not just some but all of them.
Bear in mind that in the Bible all leaders are referred to as
kings. And why would they fight
Christ at His return? Because they have been deceived by a certain “
Rev 17:3 So he carried me away in
the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast
which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
Rev 17:4 The woman was arrayed in
purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls,
having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her
fornication.
Rev 17:5 And on her forehead a
name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE
ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Rev 17:6 I saw the woman, drunk
with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And
when I saw her, I marvelled with great amazement.
Isn’t it extraordinary? Instead
of being happy that the Savior of the world is coming,
the Mother of Harlots gathers up the kings of the earth to fight Him. And they meekly follow her.
When we sent our magazines to world leaders warning them of this fact,
many of them made their way to the Vatican, seeking the Pope’s blessings, and
showing us exactly what they think of us.
So did our Queen - Elizabeth II, our Prime Minister - John Howard, and
President Bush of the USA, the three important personalities that play such
important roles in the prophecies of our time.
The question is, how are all those kings going
to fight Jesus Christ at His return?
They are unlikely to take arms to fight Him in the air before He lands
on Mount Zion, though given their madness they may well try to do that too, but
they will fight Him by sending out the message that He is not wanted and not
welcomed. They do that by worshiping a
false god, and by following an idolatrous religion that presents a carved
image, an abominable idol, as their saviour.
And they happily approve of it and embrace that false religion.
Anyone who is not observing the Sabbaths, the Holy Days and the
Commandments of God, and not living according with the true Gospel of Jesus
Christ, is an enemy of God and of Jesus Christ.
Rev 18:8 "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.
Now notice a parallelism between Isaiah’s and Mathew’s prophecies, how
they both lead to the Great Tribulation.
Mat 24:29 "Immediately after
the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not
give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens
will be shaken.
Mat 24:30 "Then the sign of
the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will
mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with
power and great glory.
When we go to Jeremiah, the other major prophet of the Bible, we also
find prophecies that have an immediate fulfilment and a distant one. Once again, names that were real in ancient time, become allegorical in future fulfilments.
The families of the north are real, but “Nebuchadnezzar the king of
Babylon”, like the ‘king of Tyre’, are allegorical and stand for the
Devil. The Devil, of course, works
through the agency of human beings. Once
again, what we have here are the horrors of communism and of the shambles that
came of it. Let us not forget that ever
since he came to power, Putin has been doing his best to return Russia to the
‘glorious times’ of communism. It is opposition
to this trend that will result in the world exploding into the end time
worldwide devastation. We are now in
the preparatory stages for that calamitous event.
Jer 25:10 'Moreover I will take
from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the
bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the
light of the lamp.
Jer 25:13 'So I will bring on
that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written
in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied concerning all the nations.
Jer 25:14 '(For many nations and
great kings shall be served by them also; and I will repay them according to
their deeds and according to the works of their own hands.)'"
Jer 25:17 Then I took the cup
from the Lord's hand, and made all the
nations drink, to whom the LORD had sent me:
All nations that were subjugated by communism suffered grievously, but all the
kingdoms of the world were terrified by that subversive ideology. They all drunk from “Nebuchadnezzar’s” cup
whether they liked it or not.
Jer 25:27
"Therefore you shall say to them, 'Thus says the LORD of
hosts, the God of Israel: "Drink, be drunk, and vomit! Fall and rise
Jer 25:28 no more, because of the
sword which I will send among you."
'"And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to
drink, then you shall say to them, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts: "You
shall certainly drink!
Jer 25:29 "For behold, I
begin to bring calamity on the city which is called by My name, and should you
be utterly unpunished? You shall not be unpunished, for I will call for a sword
on all the inhabitants of the earth,"
says the LORD of hosts.'
A sword on all inhabitants of the earth will occur only once, just prior
to the return of Jesus Christ during the Great Tribulation. This is why this prophecy is more about our
time than about the ancient time when it had only a minor fulfilment. It is a prophecy that takes us beyond the
seventy years of communism, to the very end of this age.
The term ‘the furthest parts of the earth’, needs no further
explanation. The question is, why would
all those people become refuse on the earth instead of being lamented and
buried? The answer is rather obvious:
there will be no one, or too few people, to lament for them and bury them. It will be a devastation the likes of which
the world had never seen.
Mat 24:20
"And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the
Sabbath. "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.
Now finally a prophecy from Zechariah which
complements those of Isaiah and Jeremiah, but which brings us some good news
too.
Zec 1:3 "Therefore
say to them, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Return to Me," says the
LORD of hosts, "and I will return to you," says the LORD of
hosts.
Zec 1:4 "Do not be
like your fathers, to whom the former prophets preached, saying, 'Thus says the
LORD of hosts: "Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds." '
But they did not hear nor heed Me," says the LORD.
Zec 1:5 "Your fathers, where are they? And the
prophets, do they live forever? Yet
surely My words and My statutes, Which I commanded My
servants the prophets, Did they not overtake your fathers?
Zec 1:6 "So they returned and said: 'Just as the
LORD of hosts determined to do to us, According to our ways and according to
our deeds, So He has dealt with us.'" ' "
Zec 1:7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh
month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year
of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the
prophet:
Zec 1:8 I saw by night, and behold, a man riding on a
red horse, and it stood among the myrtle trees in the hollow; and behind him
were horses: red, sorrel, and white.
Zec 1:9 Then I said, "My lord, what are
these?" So the angel who talked with me said to me, "I will show you
what they are."
Zec
Zec
Zec
Zec
Zec
Zec
Zec
The rebuilding of Jerusalem and the cities of Judah after the seventy
years of Babylonian captivity was only minor.
This future “seventy years” prophecy was not about Jerusalem and the
cities of Judah, which have been under God’s curse not for seventy years now
but for two millennia, but for the cities and people that have been under
Jewish domination for seventy years during their ill conceived atheist
empire.
Is it not remarkable that while millions of people have been decimated
under that tyrannical atheist ideology, the Jews themselves suffered their
greatest calamity ever, the Holocaust, elsewhere in Europe? As God says, what you do to others it shall
be done to you. But of course this is
terribly ‘politically incorrect’, and no Jew would
admit to that.
Or would they? Unless they admit
and repent of the horrors they have brought upon the world through their
disdain for the Covenant of God and their ill conceived communist ‘utopia’ on
earth they too will perish during the Great Tribulation, just like the nations
that would come against them. Enough of
them have turned to Jesus Christ to enable the remaining promises made by God
to the patriarchs of old to be fulfilled as stated.
The Bible says that when they are brought back from Diaspora they would
be blessed and protected by God. Well, back they have been brought, but blessed
and protected they have not been.
Why? Because when they came back
they were supposed to repent, admit their mistakes, turn to God in heartfelt
repentance, and to the One they have foolishly pierced.
Zec 12:8 "In that day 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
Zec
The fact that the Jews have not reached this point yet is no reason for
anyone to turn against them, for as the Scriptures make it clear, God is the
final arbiter of all that is happening in the world. Like other people, they have merely
fulfilled the role assigned to them from above.
Although they have caused untold sufferings to others, they themselves
have suffered more than enough. People should never forget what Jesus Christ,
who once said that they were children of the Devil, also prayed as He was
giving up Hid Spirit: “Father, forgive
them, for they do not know what they do." (Luke 23:34). Earlier He also said:
Mat 7:1 "Judge
not, that you be not judged.
Mat 7:2 "For with what
judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will
be measured back to you.”
As Jesus Christ would have said, go and do likewise.
The Benefits Of Meditation,
But Which Meditation?
Meditation seems to be the buzz word these days: Buddhist meditation,
Hindu meditation, Shinto meditation, yoga meditation, whichever way meditation
– all meditations according to eastern religions. These kind of meditations are spreading like
bush fire in the West, all promising peace of mind on earth and happiness in
heaven.
There is no doubt that meditation could be beneficial to people’s
health, but it has to be the right kind of meditation for it could also be very
harmful. All meditations have religious
undertones, and this where major problems arise, and where the differences
between eastern and western meditations become important. For while both seek to slow down the mind and
clear it of troublesome thoughts, what they promise in regard to the ultimate
destiny of life and soul is very different and very dangerous for the people of
God.
Salvation in Buddhism means reaching Nirvana – a state of nothingness
where all thoughts are extinguished and all memory is lost. Nirvana is achieved by meditating oneself to
extinction – emptying the mind of everything, and leaving behind a shell that
is aware of nothing but the immediate environment – a walking corpse, in other
words. It is not for nothing that Buddhists feel best when they can meditate in
cemeteries. But, like in all other
religions, over time a huge gap has developed between Buddhist philosophy and
Buddhist practice. While telling their
followers that there is no God, they encourage them to worship the Buddha and
seek their fortune in idolatry, stargazing and witchcraft. Idols of the Buddha, the stars, and the
spirits of witches, have become the new gods in Buddhism. But what does the Bible, the Word of the true
God, says?
Isa 47:12 "Stand now
with your enchantments And the multitude of your sorceries, In which you have
laboured from your youth;
Isa 47:13 Perhaps you
will be able to profit, perhaps you will prevail. You are wearied in the multitude of your
counsels; Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, And
the monthly prognosticators stand up and save you from what shall come upon
you.
Isa 47:14 Behold, they
shall be as stubble, The fire shall burn them; They shall not deliver
themselves From the power of the flame; It shall not be a coal to be warmed by,
nor a fire to sit before!”
God was addressing the people of Israel in this passage, but we know
that the Bible is a book for the whole world, especially since the New
Testament. Jesus Christ is a Savior of the whole world, and that is why He sent His
followers to make disciples of all nations.
Mat 28:18 And
Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me
in heaven and on earth. "Go
therefore
Mat 28:19 and
make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Mat 28:20
"teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded
you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
Having refused the New Testament, and the Holy Spirit that comes with
it, the Jews have made themselves easy prays for eastern demagogues. They have one of the highest percentages of
people who fall victims to eastern religions’ idolatrous philosophies.
By comparison, Christian meditation, does not seek salvation through
emptying one’s mind of everything, or salvation through idols, stargazing and
witchcraft. Christian meditation aims to
slow down a troubled mind and replace harmful thoughts with calming beneficial
ones. This is achieved by meditating on
the Law of God, on aspects of creation, and on the purpose of human life. Salvation means attaining the mind of God,
expanding one’s consciousness to the consciousness of God, being at peace with
God, the self, and the universe. That
cannot be achieved through an empty mind, by separating oneself from God and
His creation. All things have been made
for Him and through Him.
John 1:1 In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:2 He
was in the beginning with God.
John 1:3 All
things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
John 1:4 In
Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
John 1:5 And
the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
God did not create the universe and the human mind in their wondrous
complexity, only to have them annihilated in wilful acts of self
immolation. Denying the existence of God
means denying the existence of the self!
That explains why Buddhists, who say that there is no God, end up
seeking salvation in death and thought annihilation. Which explains also why
people who deny God, or act contrary to His life giving laws, have aimless
troubled minds and lives.
Proper meditation leads not only to peaceful and contented minds and
souls, but to prosperity and success in life, the very things that are shied
away by eastern philosophies, which teach that life is sorrow and misery. Life is what you make of it: sorrow and
misery, or blessing and happiness. This
is what proper meditation is all about, and what it should lead to.
Josh 1:8 "This Book of the Law shall not
depart from your mouth, but you shall
meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all
that is written in it. For then you will
make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”
Psa 119:97 Oh, how I love
Your law! It is my meditation all the
day.
Psa 119:98 You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my
enemies; For they are ever with me.
Psa 119:99 I have more
understanding than all my teachers, For Your
testimonies are my meditation.
Psa 119:100 I understand
more than the ancients, Because I keep Your precepts.
Psa 119:103 How sweet are
Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Psa 119:104 Through Your precepts
I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.
Psa 119:12 “Blessed are
You, O LORD! Teach me Your statutes!
Psa 119:15 I will meditate on
Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways.
Psa 119:16 I will delight myself
in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.
Psa 1:1 Blessed is the
man Who walks not in the counsel of the
ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the
Psa 1:2 scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.
Psa 1:3 He shall be like
a tree planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its
season, Whose leaf also shall not wither;
Psa 1:4 And whatever he
does shall prosper. The ungodly are not
so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
Psa 1:5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the
judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
Psa 1:6 For the LORD knows
the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
People often speak with glee of the immediate benefits of eastern
meditation, without realising where it all leads to if carried to its ultimate
goal. By contrast, there are no hidden
dangers in Christian meditation, only benefits all around.
Meditation outside of God’s realm is dangerous because it lets people
believe that they can obtain happiness without God, through their own singular
efforts. Christian meditation serves
double purpose: harmonious and happy existence in this world, and salvation in
the next.
Christian meditation can be done individually or in groups. It can be done at home – meditating on the
Word of God; in nature – meditating on the unfathomable riches and beauty of
God’s creation; listening to a soothing piece of music, travelling, and even
working. The Apostles of Jesus Christ
spoke about the beneficial effects of meditation in combination with prayer,
supplication and thanksgiving.
Phil 4:4 “Rejoice
in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
Phil 4:5 Let
your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing,
Phil 4:6 but
in everything by prayer and
supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and
the
Phil 4:7 peace of God, which surpasses all
understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Finally,
Phil 4:8 brethren, whatever
things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever
things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good
report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy; meditate on these things.
Phil 4:9 The
things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and
the God of peace will be with you.”
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
1 Tim 4:9 which
is to come. This is a faithful saying
and worthy of all acceptance.
What wonderful benefits Christian meditation can bring to one’s
life: peace of mind, prosperity,
success, wisdom, and, ultimately, salvation.
No contest!
Crying Aloud In A ‘Wilderness’ Of People
"Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice
like a trumpet; Tell My people
their
transgression, And the
house of Jacob
their sins.” (Isa 58:1).
It has fallen to us, people of little significance, of another country
and another tongue, to cry aloud the sins of these people and warn them of the
consequences of their wayward ways. As
the Scriptures say:
Isa 28:9 "Whom will
he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just
weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts?
Isa 28:10 For precept must be upon precept, precept
upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a
little."
Isa 28:11 For with
stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people, To whom He
said,
Isa 28:12 "This is the rest with which You may
cause the weary to rest," And, "This is the refreshing"; Yet
they would not hear.
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.
Isa 28:18 Your covenant with death will be annulled,
And your agreement with Sheol will not stand; When the overflowing scourge
passes through, Then you will be trampled down by it.”
Now there is no doubt that Jesus Christ was the precious cornerstone
“Foundation” who will make justice the measuring line and sweep away the refuge of lies, but
He was neither of another tongues nor of stammering lips. On the other hand, neither myself
nor my companion in this work are native English speakers, nor are we
particularly good at public speaking.
Only God knows how much we have been struggling with this work, and how
much we wished we had someone to at least do the proofreading for us, but we
haven’t had that person, nor could we afford it. And yet, we have done a work that was sorely
needed in the world, one that does not resemble anything in the world at
present, and one which has reached far and wide.
What is even more extraordinary
is that this work is being done by people who received an atheist education in
their formative years, both of us having spent the first decades of our lives
in communist Romania. Our experiences from those early years gave us the
strength to cope with the trials that the work of God would inevitably draw
from a world full of unbelievers. We
both put our lives in danger when we escaped from one of the most totalitarian
regimes this world has ever seen, none of us having any idea at that time that
we would end our days working for God.
Our primary mission has been to the English speaking people, but because
this has coincided with astonishing advances in technology we found it easy to
extend this work to the whole world. We
are happy to see that even without engaging ourselves in paid advertising we
have managed to make this work known “as a witness” to the furthest corners of
the earth. Some people may wonder what
we mean by the words “as a witness”.
Well, there are myriads of missionaries out there in the world, seeking
converts and preaching all kinds of gospels to gullible people, but there are
no reference points by which people may judge whether
what they are being preached is right or not.
Now they can do so by referring to The
Christian Herald, for just because someone is reading from the Bible does
not necessarily mean that what he is preaching is right. Our magazines are free and easily accessible
to everyone who is interested in them.
We witness the original Gospel of Jesus Christ that has become lost in
the course of time.
It was our heavenly Father’s decision to make His Word understandable
only to those who gained merit by virtue of an honest quest for truth and
righteousness, and to seal it from those who did not deserve to understand it,
those who turned it into a commercial venture.
As Jesus said:
Mat
Mat
We have done our very best to make it easy for people to compare what
people preach with what the Bible says.
We have been supporting our viewpoints with heavy scriptural
quotations. We have found that what
churches and religions are preaching these days is in large measure not true.
At no time in history were these words of Apostle Paul more appropriate
than they are now.
2 Cor 11:4 “For
if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you
receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel
which you have not accepted; you may well put up with it!
2 Cor 11:5 For I consider that I
am not at all inferior to the most eminent apostles. Even though I am untrained in speech,
2 Cor 11:6 yet I am not in
knowledge. But we have been thoroughly
manifested among you in all things.
2 Cor 11:7 Did I commit sin in
humbling myself that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God
to you free of charge?”
2 Cor 11:12 But what I do, I will
also continue to do, that I may cut off the opportunity from those who desire
an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the things of which they boast.
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
2 Cor 13:6 in you? Unless indeed
you are disqualified. But I trust that
you will know that we are not disqualified.”
How many times have you heard preachers tell their listeners to examine
themselves in order to find out whether they are in the faith or not? How can one find that one out? By the
standards of the Scriptures! There
is no other way by which people may know whether they are in the faith or not
than by studying the Scriptures. You
may seek help, you may read what other peoples write, but in the final analysis
unless you take your destiny in your own hands, unless you check it out in the
Scriptures for yourself, you will not make it into the Kingdom of God. Those who think that one can distinguish between
true and false preachers just by listening to them will almost certainly end up
becoming victims of a cruel deception.
It is not for nothing that Apostle Paul warned people to beware of false
preachers who transform themselves into ministers of Christ, who present the
Devil as a minister of righteousness. Do
you know any of them? Of course you
don’t. If you knew you would not attend
their churches. Or do you think that
such people cry aloud that they are false preachers, that
they preach Satan instead of Christ, that theirs is a false gospel which leads
to perdition rather than salvation?
It is everyone’s duty to “test the spirits” to find out whether they are
true or false, whether they are of God or of the Devil. The spirits, good or bad, work through human
beings, through our feelings and actions towards others.
1 John 2:9 “He
who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now.
1 John 5:2 begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of
God, when we love God and keep His commandments.
1 John 5:3 For this is the love
of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.”
Here we have three tests by which people may know if they are approved
by God. The first one is the test of
love. Those who hold grudges, who are
short tempered, who cannot forgive, who
do not love their neighbours as themselves, who do not love even their enemies,
who cannot say ‘I am sorry’ when making mistakes, are not approved by God. And if one is not approved By God he cannot
be saved. One should always remember
the example of Jesus Christ. As He was
dying on the cross, He looked at those who were rejoicing at His feet and
casting lots for His clothes, and said: "Father, forgive them, for they do
not know what they do.” (Luke 23:34).
Do you think that you suffered a greater loss than Jesus Christ? If you did not, why can’t you forgive them
and ask the Father to forgive them too?
When you do that, you may or may not help them much, but you will
certainly do yourself a lot of good. A
positive, loving and forgiving frame of mind works wonder upon your own body
and psyche. It heals you and helps you
live a happier, longer, and more fulfilled life.
Now to the second test: “ Whoever confesses
that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” Without acknowledging Jesus Christ as Lord
and Savior no one can be saved. That requires faith, and faith comes from the
Scriptures.
And the third test that came out of these Scriptures: “this is the love of God, that we keep His
commandments”.
The Commandments of God are the surest standard and most visible test by
which people may determine whether they are being preached the Gospel of Jesus
Christ or some other concoction. (See The Christian Herald No 11, for further
details on this topic).
This then has been the purpose of this work from the very beginning – to
offer people an honest guide on their road to salvation.
Now it is an extraordinary trait of human nature that when offered something
good and particularly useful for salvation, to receive it with a great deal of
cynicism and suspicion. Although
thousands upon thousands of people have availed themselves of our services, and
an increasing number continue to do so through our web site, no one has taken
the plunge to join us in this work. We
knew that this would be the case and said so in more than one edition of this
magazine. How did we know it? Because we saw that this work fit into a
specific prophecy. The Bible told us that
those who would be engaged in it would have to do it alone to the very
end.
Now even though we knew this fact very well, we were still amazed to see
that people who started a religious work at about the same time, whose gospels
are demonstrably false, who put heavy burdens upon their followers, have been
surging ahead in leaps and bounds, having amassed great wealth and large
following by now, yet we are still in the same condition that we started
with. Now what does that tell you about
human nature?
Other churches and their preachers would have been mortified to admit
that they were so spectacularly unsuccessful, yet we not only did not keep this
a secret, but let the whole world know of our predicament. Why? As a witness, and because this confirms our bona fides.
Knowing what the Scriptures say abut this work, we wrote years ago that
if a single person converted to our religion and became a genuine follower of
us, we would not be whom we say we are.
There was plenty of time for the world to prove us wrong, yet it did not
happen. No one has joined us, and no one
has lend us a helping hand, even though we have exhausted ourselves trying to
bring people to the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, giving little heed to what
that might mean for us if our prediction proved wrong.
Now what shall we say or do about that?
Shall we be terribly heartbroken about it, or rather should we say:
“Thank you world for
making us who we are!”
The Secret to Unveiling
The Book of Revelation
When we announced in our last edition that we intended to unveil the
mysteries of the book of Revelation, a new wave of sermons about that book took
to the air from our nemesis. They were
determined to leave nothing for us to talk about that they have not already
covered. We were quite happy for them to
do that, and they did not disappoint us.
As we expected, as biblical scholars have done for ages, when they talk
about the book of Rev elation they begin with the so-called “four horsemen of
the Apocalypse.” It suits them well,
for those horsemen are usually accompanied by frightening scenarios that send
shivers through the hearts of those who watch them. Nothing pleases preachers more than to keep
their followers on their toes and ask for more of the same. They are good at that, for there is plenty of
it in the Bible, but what they are not so good at is placing them in their
proper historical setting, in the context of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Apocalypse is the Greek name for the book of Revelation, except that in
the course of time the term ‘Apocalypse’ has acquired some sinister end time
connotations. Not long ago, there was a
film called ‘Apocalypse Now’, which is still being shown on our screens from
time to time. They used the Greek term
for it instead of its English counterpart for its suggestive end time sinister
scenarios. Imagine the effect it might
have had if they had called it, ‘Revelation Now.’ Not only would it not have stirred people’s
interest, but it would have caused them to run away for it would have implied
serious biblical staff.
Now there is no question that the four horsemen of Revelation convey a
frightening scenario. What is under
question is when are they supposed to made their presence in the world.
Modern theologians who have written or spoken about them, have either
placed them in an indeterminate future, or in not very convincing scenarios in
connection with the two World Wars and the Cold War, and more recently with
Islamic terrorism. In plain words, what
they have offered us is nothing but unsubstantiated guesswork.
Decades ago, when I used to be a member of the Worldwide Church of God,
its leader, the late Herbert W Armstrong, used to say that ninety percent of
biblical prophecies are yet to be fulfilled, a theme which has been take by his
disciples and still being preached these days.
What I could not understand then was how on earth could he possibly know
that? I resolved that mystery only
recently when those who have been trained in his school of thought said the
same thing in connection with ‘four horsemen of Apocalypse. You see, if those horsemen are yet to make
their presence in the world, or if they
have struck only in recent times, then indeed the vast majority of Bible’s
prophecies are yet to be fulfilled. That
is because from chapter six of Revelation, when the horsemen make their
presence, to the end of it there are sixteen more chapters, all full of
prophecies.
That raises another question: why would God put so much importance on
the last few years of this age and treat the whole of past history as if were
just an appendage. The truth is He
hasn’t. All of mankind’s history has
been important, and all of it has been permeated with prophetic meanings and
outcomes. The best example is offered by
none other than these four horsemen.
Just because something has been revealed in the last book of the Bible
does not mean that those events are to take place in the last years of
history. We should never forget how
prophecy has been written.
Isa 28:9 "Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom
will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just
drawn from the breasts?
Isa 28:10 For precept must be upon precept, precept
upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a
little."
Isa 28:11 For with stammering lips and another tongue
He will speak to this people,
Isa 28:14 Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you
scornful men, Who rule this people . . . “
Who is to fall back and be caught and be snared and broken? Not God’s
true servants, but scornful men who rule their people with cruelty. Contrast this with what God says abut His
true prophets.
Amos 3:7 “Surely the Lord GOD
does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.”
We once said that virtually everything that people have written about
the book of Revelation is wrong. Now how
could we have known that? Have we read
and assessed everything that people have written about that book? No! We
have read a lot, but by no means all of it.
Then how did we know it? We knew
it from this.
Rev 10:5 “The angel whom I saw
standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven
Rev 10:6 and swore by Him who
lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the
earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it,
that there should be delay no longer,
If what people have written about this book were right, the mystery of
God would have been finished, the end would have arrived, Jesus Christ would
have returned to this earth, and the world would be now in the Millennial
Kingdom.
But the mystery of God has not been finished and none of those things
have occurred, therefore those writings could not have been right. Indeed, what we have read about this book is
so far off the mark, so speculative, as to render them worse than useless. That
is why we suggested that people gather them together and make them ready for a
good bonfire.
The biggest mistake people make when talking about Revelation is to
assume that this book is about the history of the world since the time of Jesus
Christ to the end of time. Nothing could
be further from the truth. Revelation
encapsulates the entire history of the world, from creation to the end of time,
as we shall prove. Let us go directly to
chapter six.
Rev 6:1 “Now I saw when the Lamb
opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying
with a voice like thunder, "Come and see."
Rev 6:5 "Come and see."
So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of
scales in his hand.
Rev 6:6 And I heard a voice in
the midst of the four living creatures saying, "A quart of wheat for a
denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil
and the wine."
Rev 6:7 When He opened the fourth
seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, "Come and
see."
Rev 6:8 So I looked, and behold,
a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed
with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with
sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.”
This is only the first half of this chapter. As you can see, it deals with the four
horsemen. This is all one can find in
the Bible about these creatures, yet they have fired peoples imagination
perhaps more than any other prophetic event.
Now, there is general agreement among biblical scholars that the first
horse, the white one, represents spiritual deception. Under him, people were conquered and
dominated through false religious dogmas.
The second horse, the red one, represents war among nations.
The third horse, the black one,
represents famine and starvation.
And the fourth, the pale horse, is a culmination and combination of all
of the above: religious strife, wars, hunger, epidemics, pestilences,
earthquakes, etc. Not too dissimilar
from what we see in the word at present.
In fact this is what has derailed many biblical scholars who have tried
to fit those horsemen into our contemporary history. The problem is, this prophecy does not
describe our own time. The time of this
prophecy is being revealed in the second part of this chapter.
Rev 6:9 When He opened the fifth
seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word
of God and for the
When would ‘the great day of God’s wrath’ come upon this world other
than at the end time?
The term “the great day of the Lord”, is found many times in the Old
Testament. Almost in every case it
refers to the end time Great Tribulation.
Chapter six, however, cannot possibly refer to that event for the
following reasons.
1) Between chapter six and the end of Revelation there are sixteen
chapters of major prophetic developments.
If the Great Tribulation comes as early as chapter six, when would the
other prophecies of Revelation be fulfilled?
2) The wording between these expressions is somewhat different: ‘the great day of His wrath’ versus ‘the
great day of the Lord’. That may appear
a minor nominal differences, but in biblical prophecies nothing is minor. Let us compare verses 12 – 16 of this
prophecy with Matthew’s prophecy about the end time Great Tribulation. See if you can tell the difference.
Mat 24:29 "Immediately after
the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give
its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will
be shaken.
Mat 24:30 "Then the sign of
the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will
mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with
power and great glory. "And He will
send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet,
Mat 24:31 and they will gather
together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
Did you notice any differences? A
casual reading of it could hardly reveal any, but look at the timing. In Revelation chapter six all of those events
are in the past tense: ‘there was a great earthquake’, ‘the sun became
black as sackcloth’, ‘the moon became
like blood’, the stars of heaven fell to the earth’, ‘the sky receded’, and ‘every mountain and
island was moved out of its place’,
whereas in Matthew’s prophecy all of these events are all in the future: ‘there
will be great tribulation’, ‘the sun will
be darkened’, ‘the moon will not
give its light’, ‘the stars will
fall from heaven’, and so on.
So when could Revelation chapter six have occurred, if not in the
future? Only one time in history has the
world been turned up side down in that manner, and that was at the Flood of
Noah. Let us have a brief look at
it.
Gen 7:11 "In the six
hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the
month, on that day all the fountains of
the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
Gen 8:2 The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also stopped,
and the rain from heaven was restrained.”
Add to this Revelation 6:12-17 and you get the full picture. Here it that account again.
Rev 6:12 “I looked when He opened
the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became
black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood.
Chapter six gives us in prophetic terms the history of the world from
creation to the Flood of Noah. The four
horsemen tell us what occurred in the world during that time. This is the secret to unveiling the book of
Revelation.
People have been thrown off the track by the events described in Rev.
6:1 and 6:9 – 11. Here is the first verse again.
Rev 6:1 “Now I saw when the Lamb
opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying
with a voice like thunder, "Come and see."
It is a well known fact that ‘the Lamb’ could only refer to Jesus
Christ. What is not so well know is
that from the time of Adam and Eve people knew that a ‘Lamb’ would come to save
the world from its sins. They did not
know under what name He would come, and that is why for a long time they only
referred to Him as the ‘Lamb’, and not as Jesus Christ.
Leaving aside the first chapter of Revelation which merely sets the
stage for Jesus’ revelation of this book to Apostle John, the name ‘Jesus
Christ’ appears for the first time in chapter twelve, which is fitting for it
is only in that chapter that we come to the historical context of the New
Testament.
Now let us look at the second case that has thrown theologians off the
track.
Rev 6:9 “When He opened the fifth
seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word
of God and for the
It has generally been assumed that this could only refer to a Christian
scenario, but that is not the case. God
had people in the world who obeyed Him and spoke His truth since the beginning
of time, Abel, Enoch, and Noah being only the most obvious examples of righteous
men from that time.
With this in mind we can now
unveil the rest of the book of Revelation.
Unveiling The Book Of Revelation (1)
The first chapter of Revelation sets the stage for what is to happen in
the rest of this book. The glorified
Christ appears in a vision to His most beloved Apostle, John, and tells him to
write down what he is about to see and hear.
Apostle John, the youngest of the Apostles, received this vision at an
advanced age when all the other Apostles had disappeared from the scene. Jesus Christ did not want them to know the
contents of this book, but why? The
reason is rather simple: they had to live and
write as if He were about to return any time. Had they seen the contents of Revelation,
they would have known that His return would be a long time in the future, and
that would have slackened their resolve and caused them to write different
things. Notice what Apostle Paul told
the Thessalonian Church.
Did Apostle Paul believe that he himself would be alive at the return of
Jesus Christ, or was he saying that only in the general sense? Hard to say, but in all likelihood he
believed that Jesus Christ would return in his own life time, otherwise it is
hard to see how he could have said, “we who are alive” if he believed that he
would be dead at that time.
Now had he and the other Apostles seen the Revelation, they would have
written entirely different things to their people and we would have an entirely
different New Testament. But as it is,
the Holy Spirit gave them only what they needed to know in order to write
exactly what He wanted, and so we now have the New Testament in its current
format and content.
We will now analyse chapter by chapter, and unveil things that have
remained secret since the beginning of the world.
Rev 1:1 “The Revelation of Jesus
Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants; things which must shortly take
place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John,
Rev 1:2 who bore witness to the
word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he
saw. Blessed is he
Rev 1:3 who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and
keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.
Rev 1:6 and has made us kings and
priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever.
Amen.
Rev 1:7 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 1:8 "I am the Alpha and
the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who
was and who is to come, the
There are many things one could say about this chapter, but for now we
will only look at verses 5-6, for they are the more relevant for the leaders of
today. Glory and dominion forever and
ever be 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.” Jesus Christ is
creating a new set of kings and priests for the Kingdom of His Father. But what will happen to the kings and
priests of today, why
is He not choosing them? Here is the
astonishing answer.
Rev 19:17 “Then I saw an angel
standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds
that fly in the midst of heaven, "Come and gather together for the supper
of the great God,
Rev 19:18 "that you may eat
the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh
of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and
slave, both small and great."
Rather than welcome Jesus Christ when He returns to this earth to save
humanity from self-annihilation, the kings and priest of this world will take
up arms against Him. The general tone of
that verse indicates that not only some kings and priests will make war against
Him, but that all kings and priests regardless of when or where they lived
would do the same.
Isn’t this what the Apostles said about “the rulers of this age”
too?
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."
It is not only the Jews and the Romans that are guilty of the
crucifixion of Jesus Christ, but all “the rulers of this age”. All of them would have done exactly the
same. Human beings in their raw form are
all the same – all are hostile to God. It
is in the character of this world’s rulers to be hostile to God, to His laws,
and to His people. This is why at the
return of Jesus Christ instead of receiving Him with open arms,
they will take arms against Him. Those
who think that this is a scenario for an indeterminate future are gravely
mistaken. This is in the making right
now. All leaders have rejected the true
Gospel of Jesus Christ and embraced the false gospel of the one who is leading
them to perdition. None of them want to
see Jesus Christ return at present or in their life time. He returns when He has to return, not when
they want Him. As for those who do not
want to see Him now or ever, this is what He has to say.
There is another expression in the first chapter of Revelation that
needs some explanation. The words,
“things which must shortly take place” have led most people to believe that all
things revealed in this book were to take place after the book was given to
Apostle John. Well, as we have seen in
the previous article, this is not the case.
If you have a New King James version of the Bible, you will see that the
term “shortly” is qualified and could also have been translated “quickly” or
“swiftly”. The difference may not
appear to be all that big, but it is big enough to make us think about it and
allow for other possibilities. When
something passes quickly, it does not necessarily pass shortly, nor necessarily in the future.
The book of Revelation was written before the world began, and it
contains the history of the entire world, not just the history of the world
after Jesus Christ.
Another thing that needs to be brought to people’s attention is the
appearance of the glorified Christ. This
shows us why it is impossible for human beings to convey through the works of
their hands how Jesus Christ and the Father look like. This is why the Scriptures say that those
who make idols and worship them are as dead as their idols.
Psa 115:3 “But our God is in heaven; He does whatever
He pleases.
Psa 115:4 Their idols are silver and gold, The work of
men's hands.
Psa 115:5 They have mouths, but they do not speak; Eyes
they have, but they do not see;
Psa 115:6 They have ears, but they do not hear; Noses
they have, but they do not smell;
Psa 115:7 They have hands, but they do not handle; Feet
they have, but they do not walk; Nor do they mutter through their throat.
Psa 115:8 Those
who make them are like them; So is everyone who trusts in them.”
The next two chapters of Revelation address seven specific Churches of
God. We will look at them in total.
Rev 2:1 "To the angel of the
church of Ephesus write, 'These things says He who holds the seven stars in His
right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:
Rev 2:2 "I know your works,
your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear
those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are
not, and have found them liars;
Rev 2:3 "and you have
persevered and have patience, and have labored for My
name's sake and have not become weary.
Rev 2:4 "Nevertheless I have
this against you, that you have left your first love.
Rev 2:5 "Remember therefore
from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come
to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its
place; unless you repent.
Rev 2:6 "But this you have,
that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
Rev 2:7 "He who has an ear,
let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will
give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of
God."'
Rev 2:15 "Thus you also have
those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
Rev 2:16 'Repent, or else I will
come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.
Rev 2:21 "And I gave her
time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent.
Rev 3:4 in
Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in
white, for they are worthy.
Rev 3:5 "He who overcomes
shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the
Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His
angels.
Rev 3:6 "He who has an ear,
let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."'
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.
Before we speak about the other churches, we need to say a few things
about the Church of God in Philadelphia first.
The late Herbert W Armstrong of the Worldwide Church of God used to say
that his church was none other than this particular Church. But this was an internal matter for members
only, not for the outside world. He felt
that coming out into the open would upset other churches and might bring
unnecessary problems to his followers.
After his death, however, when his church began to disintegrate, another
man rose who saw a unique opportunity for himself. He revived the old doctrines and kept alive
the spirit of the old man. He and his
underlings did away with any pretence of modesty, and called their congregation
by no other name than Philadelphia Church of God. Ever since that time, they have been beating
the drums that they are doing the work that Jesus assigned to this Church. What they have not explained, however, is
which is the exact work that they are doing, for that Church contains two kinds
of people, each doing its own things.
For example, Rev. 3:8 speaks of people of “little strength” who have not
denied Jesus’ word and kept His name, before whom He
opened a door that no one can close.
Revelation 3:9 on the other hand, speaks of “those of the synagogue of
Satan, who say they are Jews and are not.”
Now, could a church, or churches, whose members number into the
thousands, and their income into the millions of dollars, be said to be of
“little strength”? Yet this is exactly what
the leaders of both
WWCG and PCH have been claiming.
They have also been claiming that their radio and television broadcasts
are the doors that Jesus opened for them to take their gospels into people’s
homes.
Now what do you think would be more advantageous for those who wants to
study the Bible and find out the truth for themselves, radio and television
broadcasts, or the Internet? Why do you
think the Internet has become the tool of choice for students all over the
world? Radio and television broadcasts
cost a lot of money, whereas Internet sites cost relatively little. Even a people of “little strength” can afford
to do that, and that is why the door that Jesus was talking about is the
Internet not radio and television broadcasts.
It is not for nothing that Jesus Christ calls the larger group a
synagogue of Satan, for they preach and practice doctrines which belonged to
the Old Testament but which have become ‘doctrines of demons’ under the New
Testament. They have become ‘doctrines
of demons’ under the New Testament because they disobey Christ and take people
back to rudimentary things of the Old Testament, whose sole purpose was to
bring us to Christ.
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.”
The Jews were not allowed to intermarry racially, and were required to
practice strict dietary laws, things which are no longer required for
Christians. And this is why.
Mat 28:18 “And Jesus came and
spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and
on earth.
Mat 28:19 "Go therefore and
make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the
Mat 28:20 Holy Spirit, teaching
them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you
always, even to the end of the age." Amen!
One cannot make disciples of all nations if he forbids them from
intermarrying each other, and eating whatever is customary in their lands. It is for this reason that Apostle Paul said
this also.
“Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.” Now do you think that those who preach and
practice these “doctrines of demons” imitate Christ? The lengths to which they go to “prove” that
these Scriptures do not mean what they say is truly
unbelievable. More than that, they also
impose heavy burdens on their followers in the name of tithing and mandatory
offerings which neither the Apostles nor we have ever advocated. As Apostle Paul said.
Jesus Christ said that during the work of those people of “little
strength”, the hour of trial will come upon the whole world to test those who
dwell on the earth. Let us have another
look at it for this is a very important matter.
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 hour of trial comes for two purposes. 1) It is God’s vengeance upon an unbelieving,
wayward, world, and 2) to test those who dwell on the earth and see who
deserves to receive a place in the eternal Kingdom of God. Remember what He said about the elect of
God?
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.”
It is clear that the “hour of trial” and the “great tribulation” are one
and the same thing, and that this catastrophe will
take place during the work of these “elect of God” of “little strength” who
have kept the word of Jesus and not denied His name. We
hope you understand the implication of all of this and take the steps to become
one of God’s elect by bringing forth works worthy of repentance, for there is
no other way by which people may save themselves from this awesome tribulation.
Now to the other Churches of God.
There has been a great deal of debate among biblical scholars as to what
exactly is the meaning of those Churches.
They cannot have been important as a result of their geographical
location, for larger and far more important cities of early Churches are not
even mentioned, such as those in Rome, in Corinth, in Galatia, and even the one
in Jerusalem. No, these seven churches
transcend both time and geographical location.
Christians should look upon them not as ancient entities of little
relevance to them, but as congregations of people that carry important messages
for themselves. Indeed, they must look
upon them as if they themselves were members of these Churches. For the seven churches describe phases which
all people undergo in their life as Christians.
For example:
The Church in Ephesus reflects the initial enthusiasm with which we all
embraced the faith of Jesus Christ.
Jesus praises it because it persevered and had patience, and had
laboured for His name's sake and had not become weary. But then, as with all of us when things do
not quite turn out as expected, comes the let down: "Nevertheless I have
this against you, that you have left your first love”.
The Church in Smyrna went through a period of stabilisation and trials,
just as we all did. "I know your
works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of
those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear any of those things which you are
about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison,
that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful
until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
The church in Pergamos is close to being dead, which is what happens
when people become disillusioned and lose faith as a result of trials. "I know your works, and where you dwell,
where Satan's throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My
faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed
among you, where Satan dwells. But I
have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the
doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a
stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to
idols, and to commit sexual immorality.
Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which
thing I hate. Repent, or else I will
come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.”
Now there are some very interesting things that we need to consider
here. This church is located where
Satan’s throne is, where the faithful martyr Antipas was killed. Now where is that place, and who might this
Antipas be? Jesus Christ expected His
followers to know both these things, otherwise He
would not have mentioned them.
People have known since ancient times where Satan’s seat is. We were not the first to discover that it is
in the Vatican, though we came to this conclusion independently. What no one has explained, however, is who
Antipas might be.
When you think about it, it is not all that hard to find that out. We have conclusively proven in previous
editions that Apostle Peter never went to Rome.
Apostle Paul, however, was brought to Rome in chains, was judged, and
was martyred there on false charges. No
one else could possibly be Antipas than Apostle Paul, for no other personality
in the New Testament has attained a greater importance with the passage of time
than he has. It was not too long after
his demise that true Christians were forced to go underground. They remained so until after the Reformation
which opened new windows of opportunity for them. No historical personality has arisen during this
time who practiced the true religion of Jesus Christ,
who could have supplanted Apostle Paul in importance as far as the Gospel of
Jesus Christ is concerned.
The word “Nicolaitans” associated with the Church in Pergamos,
comes from Nicolas, or Saint Nicolas, or as is more commonly known these days,
Santa Claus. Christmas is not the birth
date of Jesus Christ. Even if it were,
He did not sanction it as a day of celebration.
Instead He commanded His followers to observe the Passover, the day He
sacrificed Himself for us, a Holy Day which the Nicolaitans do not keep.
The Church in Thyatira rises from the ashes of Pergamos and brings forth
some good works. Nevertheless, because
its members have lost their first love, they are easy pray to the sins of the
flesh and of the spirit. Isn’t this what
we all had to cope with in our life as Christians? "I know your works, love, service,
faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the
first. Nevertheless I have a few things against
you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to
teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things
sacrificed to idols. And I gave her time
to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. . . “ The fallen woman Jezebel stands for a fallen
church.
The Church in Sardis, which follows, is almost dead spiritually, which
is what happens with all Christians who become entangled in the sins of the
flesh or of the spirit. "I know
your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which
remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before
God. Remember therefore how you have
received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I
will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon
you. You have a few names even in
Then comes the Church in
Now one has to be careful what he says abut this Church for although it
is a lacklustre Church, it is not a fallen away church. It is still a Church of God which is not the
case with a fallen church. Many
preachers have failed to make a distinction between a fallen asleep and a
fallen away church, and have committed blasphemy by saying that Laodicea is a fallen away Church. There is no hope of redemption for a fallen
away church, as it is for a fallen asleep one.
Laodicea Church of God has not fallen away,
but fallen asleep, and that is a major difference.
You can see now how the progression from one church to the other fits
the stages which all Christians go through in their life. We all start enthusiastically then follow a
rocky road of ups and down to the very end.
But as Jesus Christ said, only those who overcome to the end will make
it into His Kingdom, not those who just cruise along.
To the Church in Ephesus He
said: “To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which
is in the midst of the Paradise of God."'
And to the Church in Smyrna: “He
who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death."'
And to the Church in Pergamos: “To him
who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat.”
And to the Church in Thyatira: "And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will
give power over the nations.”
And to the Church in Sardis: "He
who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out
his name from the Book of Life;
And to the Church in Philadelphia: "He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God,
and he shall go out no more. . . “
And finally the church in
Those who think that salvation is all about going to
church on Sundays and prostrating before icons have a little surprise coming
their way.
Seven times the glorified Christ used the expression, ‘he who
overcomes’, and there are more in the Bible, which tells us how important it is
for people to pursue the right and true path to the very end and not to become
slack in their struggle for salvation.
It is not an easy struggle, but the rewards are worth any
sacrifice.
1 Cor 2:9 "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."
Now chapter four.
Rev 4:1 After these things I
looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I
heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, "Come up here, and I
will show you things which must take place after this."
Rev 4:2 Immediately I was in the
Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.
Rev 4:3 And He who sat there was
like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around
the throne, in appearance like an emerald.
Rev 4:4 Around the throne were
twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting,
clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads.
Rev 4:5 And from the throne
proceeded lightnings, thunderings,
and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the
seven Spirits of God.
Rev 4:6 Before the throne there
was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around
the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back.
Rev 4:7 The first living creature
was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living
creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a
flying eagle.
Rev 4:8 The four living
creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they
do not rest day or night, saying: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
Who was and is and is to come!"
Rev 4:9 Whenever the living
creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who
sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever,
Rev 4:10 the twenty-four elders
fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever
and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:
Rev 5:2 Then I saw a strong angel
proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and to
loose its seals?"
Rev 5:3 And no one in heaven or
on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.
Rev 5:4 So I wept much, because
no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it.
Rev 5:5 But one of the elders
said to me, "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root
of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals."
Rev 5:6 And I looked, and behold,
in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst
of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and
seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
Rev 5:7 Then He came and took the
scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.
Rev 5:8 Now when He had taken the
scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before
the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the
prayers of the saints.
Rev 5:9 And they sang a new song,
saying: "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,
Chapters four and five go together.
They show us how in the history of the world only one person was found
worthy to open the scroll that was in the hand of God. That scroll had been written before the world
began, just a Jesus sacrifice was preordained before the world began. You may wish to ponder a little upon the
following Scriptures.
Mat
Mat
Mat 25:34 "Then the King
will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from
the foundation of the world:
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.
Eph 1:3 “Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual
blessing in the heavenly
Eph 1:4 places in Christ, just as
He chose us in Him before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without blame
Eph 1:5 before Him in love, having
predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to
the good pleasure
Eph 1:6 of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by
which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.”
Heb 4:3 “For we who have believed
do enter that rest, as He has said: "So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall
not enter My rest,' " although the
works were finished from the foundation of the world.”
Rev 13:7 “It was granted to [the
Dragon] to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was
given him over every
Rev 13:8 tribe, tongue, and
nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been
written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the
world.”
Rev 13:9 If anyone has an ear,
let him hear.
Rev 17:8 "The beast that you
saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to
perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not
written in the Book of Life from the
foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and
yet is.”
Now if all these things had been determined and predestined before the
foundation of the world – Jesus’ sacrifice, the righteous, the wicked, the
‘beast’, the Devil and his role, etc., isn’t it reasonable to assume that a
book of such importance like the Revelation had also been written before the
foundation of the world? The fact that
it was revealed to the world at the time of Apostle John does not mean that it was
written at that time too. And if it was
written before the foundation of the world, why should it contain the history
of the world only from the time of Jesus Christ to the end of the world? The truth is, it doesn’t. Rather, Revelation contains the history of
the world in prophetic symbols from the beginning of the world to the end of
it. Without this key in mind, no one can
make sense of this book. Now let us
continue with Revelation chapter six.
Rev 6:1 Now I saw when the Lamb
opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying
with a voice like thunder, "Come and see." And I looked, and behold,
Rev 6:2 a white horse. He who sat
on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and
to conquer.
Rev 6:3 When He opened the second
seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come and see."
Rev 6:4 Another horse, fiery red,
went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the
earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a
great sword.
Rev 6:5 When He opened the third
seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come and see." So I
looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in
his hand.
Rev 6:6 And I heard a voice in
the midst of the four living creatures saying, "A quart of wheat for a
denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil
and the wine."
Rev 6:7 When He opened the fourth
seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, "Come and
see."
Rev 6:8 So I looked, and behold,
a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed
with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with
sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.
Rev 6:9 When He opened the fifth
seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word
of God and for the testimony which they held.
And they cried with a loud voice, saying,
We’ve already discussed this chapter at length in the preceding article,
so we will go to the next one.
Rev 7:1 After these things I saw
four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds
of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any
tree.
Rev 7:2 Then I saw another angel
ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a
loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the
sea,
Rev 7:3 saying, "Do not harm
the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on
their foreheads."
Rev 7:6 of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of
Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed;
Rev 7:7 of the tribe of Simeon
twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Issachar
Rev 7:8 twelve thousand were
sealed; of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Joseph
twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were
sealed.
Rev 7:9 After these things I
looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all
nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before
the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
This chapter reflects the saving work of God from the Flood of Noah to
the end of the world. We have amply
explained who the 144 000 people and the multitude of white robed people are in
The Christian Herald No 1.
Rev 8:1 When He opened the
seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
Rev 8:2 And I saw the seven
angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.
Rev 8:3 Then another angel,
having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense,
that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden
altar which was before the throne.
Rev 8:4 And the smoke of the
incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel's
hand.
Rev 8:5 Then the angel took the
censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And
there were noises, thunderings, lightnings,
and an earthquake.
Rev 8:6 So the seven angels who
had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
Rev 8:7 The first angel sounded:
And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the
earth. And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned
up. Then the second angel sounded:
Rev 8:8 And something like a
great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the
sea became blood.
Rev 8:9 And a third of the living
creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
Generally speaking, this chapter deals with the physical history of the
world from the Flood of Noah to the latter part of the nineteenth century. The mistake people have made with this
chapter is to assume that the devastation would come all at once. Not so.
One third of the trees and the grass have disappeared gradually during that
period. In other words, desertification
has been an ongoing process, as in fact it is these days only more so and on a
larger scale.
The effect of the second angel is also highly metaphorical. “And something like a great mountain burning
with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. And a
third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were
destroyed.” What this is really telling
us is that in the same period there has been a gradual erosion in the quality
of water and a continuous disappearance of the living organisms within it.
The third angel relates a similar process of degradation in the rivers
of fresh water and how their pollution has affected people’s health in that
period. This brings us to chapter nine
in which we see a sudden catastrophic change for the worse.
Rev 9:1 Then the fifth angel
sounded: And I saw a star fallen from
heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless
Rev 9:2 pit. And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke
arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air
were darkened because of the smoke of the pit.
Rev 9:3 Then out of the smoke
locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of
the earth have power.
Rev 9:4 They were commanded not
to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those
men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
Rev 9:5 And they were not given
authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was
like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man.
Rev 9:6 In those days men will
seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee
from them.
Rev 9:7 The shape of the locusts
was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something
like gold, and their
Rev 9:8 faces were like the faces
of men. They had hair like women's
hair, and their teeth were like lions' teeth.
Rev 9:9 And they had breastplates
like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of
chariots with many horses running into battle.
Rev 9:10 They had tails like
scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men
five months.
The star of the bottomless pit is the Devil. We don’t need to spend time on that. But what is this bottomless pit out of which
came smoke and all those fire breathing “locusts” and “scorpions”? What this chapter relates is the oil that
came out of the earth and the industrial revolution that it engendered. We said that chapter eight covers the history
of the world from the Flood to the latter part of the nineteenth century
because that is when industrial revolution began.
Verse nine tells us that all this horror will last for five months. Well, in biblical parlance that is about 150
years (day for a year principle), which means that something drastic will occur
in the very near future to put an end to it all.
Now what could possibly happen to bring the industrial revolution to an
end and stop the oil from coming out of the ground and oiling the machinery of
today? That would pretty much mean the
end of the world as we know it, wouldn’t it?
Well, yes and no. What it means
is a return to a more natural way of living.
That will happen after the Great Tribulation which will reduce mankind
by a minimum of two billions and a maximum of six. Jesus Christ will return immediately after
that enormous devastation. He will
capture the angel of the bottomless pit and lock him back until the end of the
Millennium.
Rev 10:1 I saw still another
mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow was
on his head, his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire.
Rev 10:2 He had a little book
open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the
land,
Rev 10:3 and cried with a loud
voice, as when a lion roars. When he cried out, seven thunders uttered their
voices.
Rev 10:4 Now when the seven
thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from
heaven saying to me, "Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered,
and do not write them."
Rev 10:5 The angel whom I saw
standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven
Rev 10:6 and swore by Him who
lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the
earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it,
that there should be delay no longer,
Rev 10:7 but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to
sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the
prophets.
Rev 10:8 Then the voice which I
heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, "Go, take the little book
which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the
earth."
Rev 10:9 So I went to the angel
and said to him, "Give me the little book." And he said to me,
"Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as
sweet as honey in your mouth."
This chapter speaks of the very thing you are reading right now: the
unveiling of the book of Revelation. The
world is that close to the end of those things and of the return of Jesus
Christ. When He comes back, the first
resurrection will occur which will involve bringing back to life those who have
been trained to become the new kings and priests of the world. Among these will
be Apostle John who received this Revelation.
That is why he was told that he must prophesy again about many peoples,
nations, tongues, and kings. A wholesale
conversion to the faith of Jesus Christ will occur during the Millennial
Kingdom, and the prime movers behind this will be Jesus’ kings and
priests.
Rev 11:1 Then I was given a reed
like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, "Rise and measure the
temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there.
Rev 11:2 "But leave out the
court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given
to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two
months.
Here we need to make an injunction before we proceed with the rest of
this chapter. We need to do this because
the first two verses of this chapter have nothing to do with the rest of it.
Biblical scholars, particularly those of a fundamentalist orientation,
have surmised that the court of the temple and the holy city would be trampled
under foot by the Gentiles for forty-two months after a new temple is built in
Jerusalem. They have been saying that
this prophecy must be fulfilled before Jesus Christ can return to this
earth. It is for this reason that they
have vigorously supported the Jews in their battle with the Arabs. They expected, and encouraged, the Jews to
build that temple as soon as possible.
But as of late they have been not too happy that the Jews have been
dragging their feet in destroying the Muslim Dome of the Rock and building
their new temple in its place. They have
not done so because that would have aligned the whole world on the side of the
Arabs, and because the Jews, like just about everybody else, are not too keen
on seeing the Man they had killed set up a Kingdom of God that does not include
them. Without repentance and conversion
no one could be part of that Kingdom, and the Jews have not been particularly
keen these things so far.
Those scholars fail to understand that forty-two months represent not
1260 days, but 1260 years.
In our No 4 edition, when we discussed the beast of Revelation 13, of
which the Bible says that it was given authority to continue for forty-two
months (Rev 13:5), we demonstrated that, according to the biblical principle of
a day for a year (Nu. 14:34; Ezek. 4:4-6), forty two months represent
approximately 1260 years. We say
approximately because when prophetic times are given in months, as opposed to days
or hours, they require a certain degree of approximation. That is because a month is less precise than
a day, and a day less precise than an hour.
The lengths of time represented by each of these terms must be treated
accordingly.
Forty-two months then represent 1260 years,
give or take a few years. This is how long the Roman Empire lasted when
counting from the foundation of Rome in about 750 BC to its collapse in about
510 A.D.
Since the Gentile nations are said to trample
under foot the court of the temple and the holy city for the same length of
time, we must look for the people who have been in control of Jerusalem for
about 1260 years.
When Jesus Christ was on earth, the Romans had dominion over Jerusalem. But the Bible does not refer to the Romans as Gentiles. The Roman Empire, alongside the Greek, Persian and Babylonian Empires, are referred to as “beasts”. Besides, the Romans did not have control over Jerusalem for that length of time. But what happened after the Roman Empire collapsed? In the West, the Popes created the Holy Roman Empire, and in the East, the Muslims took control of Jerusalem.
If we calculate 1260 years from the conquest of Jerusalem by the Ottoman forces in 655 AD or thereabouts, we come to the year 1915, the middle of the First World War, when the British forces liberated the city from Turkish domination.
The Muslims were the Gentiles who trampled underfoot the court of the temple for forty-two months. Why only the court and not the temple itself? Because there no longer was a temple in Jerusalem by then! The Jewish temple had long since been destroyed by the Romans, as Jesus said that it would happen, and that temple had never been rebuilt since.
The Muslims built their Dome of the Rock on that ground because there was no longer a Jewish temple there anymore.
Now we continue with the rest of chapter 11.
Rev 11:7 When they finish their
testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war
against them, overcome
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.
In regard to these two witnesses we have said a fair bit in the
past. One only has to look at the tables
of contents in our web site to locate it.
So we won’t repeat that here, but what we will do instead is take you to
an Old Testament prophecy that speaks about them too.
Zec 4:1 “Now the angel who talked with me came back
and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep.
Zec 4:2 And he said to me, "What do you
see?" So I said, "I am looking, and there is a lampstand
of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven
pipes to the seven lamps.
Zec 4:3 "Two olive trees are by it, one at the
right of the bowl and the other at its left."
Zec 4:4 So I answered and spoke to the angel who
talked with me, saying, "What are these, my lord?"
Zec 4:5 Then the angel who talked with me answered
and said to me, "Do you not know what these are?" And I said,
"No, my lord."
Zec 4:6 So he answered and said to me: "This is
the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor
by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the LORD of hosts.”
Reference to the two olive trees tells us that these are the same people
that are mentioned in Rev.11: 4. The
fact that their work is being done “Not by might nor by power, but by God’s
Spirit” tells us who is behind their work and why though few in number their
work resonates all over the world. There is, however, another quite
extraordinary mystery about them.
Zec
4:12 And I further answered and said to
him, "What are these two olive branches that drip into the receptacles of
the two gold pipes from which the golden oil drains?"
Zec
Zec
When two of His disciples asked Jesus Christ to grant them to sit on
either side of Him in His Kingdom, He told them that they did not know what
they were asking.
Mat
Mat
Jesus had power to appoint the twelve Apostles, who will reign with Him
over the twelve tribes of Israel, “but to sit on My right hand and on My left
is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My
Father." He was aware of this
prophecy, and knew that God would be the One who would chose the two witnesses
and be behind their work.
This however is not the mystery we were referring to. Have a look at this.
Zec 5:1 “Then I turned and raised my eyes, and saw
there a flying scroll. And he said to
me,
Zec 5:2 "What do you see?" So I answered,
"I see a flying scroll. Its length is twenty cubits and its width ten
cubits."
Zec 5:3 Then he said to me, "This is the curse
that goes out over the face of the whole earth: 'Every thief shall be
expelled,' according to this side of the scroll; and, 'Every perjurer shall be
expelled,' according to that side of it."
Zec 5:4 "I will send out the curse," says
the LORD of hosts; "It shall enter the house of the thief and the house of
the one who swears falsely by My name. It shall remain in the midst of his
house and consume it, with its timber and stones."
This is merely telling us that during the time of the two witnesses, the
Devil and his demons will do ravages in the world, particularly among those who
do not keep the law of God.
Zec 5:5 Then the angel who talked with me came out
and said to me, "Lift your eyes now, and see what this is that goes
forth."
Zec 5:6 So I asked, "What is it?" And he
said, "It is a basket that is going forth." He also said, "This
is their resemblance throughout the earth:
Zec 5:7 "Here is a
lead disc lifted up, and this is a woman sitting inside the basket"; then
he said,
Zec 5:8 "This is
Wickedness!" And he thrust her down into the basket, and threw the lead
cover over its mouth.”
The mention of a woman in connection with this prophecy can mean only
one thing: one of the two witnesses is a woman.
That she is described as ‘wickedness’ tells us whose work she is
doing. If you think you are having
problems in you life, spear a thought for the man who has to contend with the
Devil incarnate while doing the work of God.
Now in light of these facts, have a look at this prophecy in its
entirety and consider its implications for our time.
Zec 3:1 “Then he showed me Joshua the high priest
standing before the Angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to
Zec 3:2 oppose him.
And the LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD
who has chosen
Zec 3:3 Now Joshua was
clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel.
Zec 3:4 Then He answered and spoke to those who stood
before Him, saying, "Take away the filthy garments from him." And to
him He said, "See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will
clothe you with rich robes."
Zec 3:5 And I said, "Let them put a clean turban
on his head." So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the
clothes on him. And the Angel of the LORD stood by.
Zec 3:6 Then the Angel of the LORD admonished Joshua,
saying,
Zec 3:7 "Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'If you
will walk in My ways, And if you will keep My command, Then you shall also
judge My house, And likewise have charge of My courts; I will give you places
to walk Among these who stand here.
Zec 3:8 'Hear, O Joshua, the high priest, You and
your companions who sit before you, For they are a wondrous sign; For behold, I
am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH.
Zec 3:9 For behold, the stone That I have laid before
Joshua: Upon the stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave its inscription,'
Says the LORD of hosts, 'And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one
day.
Zec
Zec 4:1 Now the angel who
talked with me came back and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his
sleep.
Zec 4:2 And he said to me, "What do you
see?" So I said, "I am looking, and there is a lampstand
of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven
pipes to the seven lamps.
Zec 4:3 "Two olive trees are by it, one at the
right of the bowl and the other at its left."
Zec 4:4 So I answered and spoke to the angel who
talked with me, saying, "What are these, my lord?"
Zec 4:5 Then the angel who talked with me answered
and said to me, "Do you not know what these are?" And I said,
"No, my lord."
Zec 4:6 So he answered and said to me: "This is
the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor
by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the LORD of hosts.
Zec 4:7 'Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring
forth the capstone With
Zec 4:8 shouts of "Grace, grace to it!"'
" Moreover the word of the LORD
came to me, saying: "The hands of Zerubbabel Have laid
Zec 4:9 the foundation of this temple; His hands
shall also finish it. Then you will know That the LORD of hosts has sent Me to
you.
Zec
Zec
Zec 4:12 And I further answered and said to him,
"What are these two olive branches that drip into the receptacles of the
two gold pipes from which the golden oil drains?"
Zec
Zec
Zec 5:1 Then I turned and
raised my eyes, and saw there a flying scroll.
And he said to me,
Zec 5:2 "What do you see?" So I answered,
"I see a flying scroll. Its length is twenty cubits and its width ten
cubits." Then he said to me,
"This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole earth:
Zec 5:3 'Every thief
shall be expelled,' according to this side of the scroll; and, 'Every perjurer
shall be expelled,' according to that side of it." [This is the scroll
that the ‘Lamb’ unveils in Rev. 5].
Zec 5:4 "I will send
out the curse," says the LORD of hosts; "It shall enter the house of
the thief And the house of the one who swears falsely by My name. It shall
remain in the midst of his house And consume it, with its timber and
stones."
Zec 5:5 Then the angel who talked with me came out
and said to me, "Lift your eyes now, and see what this is that goes
forth."
Zec 5:6 So I asked, "What is it?" And he
said, "It is a basket that is going forth." He also said, "This
is their resemblance throughout the earth:
Zec 5:7 "Here is a
lead disc lifted up, and this is a woman sitting inside the basket";
Zec 5:8 then he said, "This is Wickedness!"
And he thrust her down into the basket, and threw the lead cover over its
mouth.
Zec 5:9 Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there
were two women, coming with the wind in their wings; for they had wings like
the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and
heaven. [Both women are witnesses of
God. One replaces the other half way
through the work of God. Each stands for
one of the Covenants, God having been married to both of them in the course of
time].
Zec
Zec
Zec 6:1 Then I turned and
raised my eyes and looked, and behold, four chariots were coming from between
two mountains, and the
Zec 6:2 mountains were mountains of bronze. With the first chariot were red horses,
with the second chariot black horses,
Zec 6:3 with the third chariot white horses, and with
the fourth chariot dappled horses; strong steeds.
Zec 6:4 Then I answered
and said to the angel who talked with me, "What are these, my
lord?" And the angel answered and
said to me,
Zec 6:5 "These are
four spirits of heaven, who go out from their station before the Lord of all
the earth.
Zec 6:6 "The one with the black horses is going
to the north country, the white are going after them, and the dappled are going
toward the south country.
Zec 6:7 "Then the
strong steeds went out, eager to go, that they might walk to and fro throughout
the earth. And He said, "Go, walk to and fro throughout the earth."
So they walked to and fro throughout the earth.
Zec 6:8 And He called to
me, and spoke to me,saying, "See, those who go
toward the north country have given rest to My Spirit in the north
country."
These four horsemen – four spirits of heaven – are the ones spoken of in
The dappled horse that goes to the south country represents the Islamist
world, and its culmination with the terror that it is inflicting upon the world
these days.
The ‘strong steeds’ represent the West and its colonial past.
The second part of Revelation needs a new key. We must leave that for our next edition. We give our nemesis the chance to try to take
the wind from underneath our wings once again.
Maybe they will have better luck and be more successful this time.
Sign Of The End Time: Islamic Terrorism
For centuries, western society’s philosophy has been predicated on the
notion that religion was on its way out, yet now the world is more sharply
divided along religious lines than it has ever been.
The United Nations was working towards a globalised
world when suddenly the children of Islam threw a deadly spanner in its
works. One cannot speak of the condition
of the world today without mentioning what is on just about everybody’s lips:
Islamic terrorism.
The problem with Islam is not that its children take human lives in
their customary gruesome manner, for, like everybody else, they have been
programmed for their role before the world began, but that in their zeal they
have forgotten what it is to be human.
Since no one can reason with them anymore and change their attitude,
they have become not only enemies of the West and of progress, but enemies of
humanity and as such the enemies of God.
Twice in the history of the world, God has been heartbroken by human predilection
for evil and degradation. The first time
was before the Flood of Noah.
Gen 6:5 “Then the LORD saw that
the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the
thoughts of his heart
Gen 6:6 was only evil
continually. And the LORD was sorry that
He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
Gen 6:7 So the LORD said, "I
will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and
beast, creeping thing
Gen 6:8 and birds of the air,
for I am sorry that I have made them.”
“But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.”
The second time has happened in our own time. By trampling under foot God’s universal laws
of hospitality, generosity, gratitude and fair play, Islamic terrorists have
forfeited the right to a place in the civilised world. They have revived the spectre of a dark age
from which the world thought it had escaped long ago.
What the world does not know is that the angel of death which is behind
their actions, has been released from his “bottomless pit” and will not be
restrained before Jesus Christ returns to this world. And He will not return before the world is
cleansed of its physical, moral and spiritual pollutions. That is the very purpose of the Great
Tribulation. Only the true servants of
Jesus Christ are safe from the ravages of this angel, and that because death
has no power over them anymore.
Rev 9:1 “Then the fifth
angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen
from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit.
Rev 20:1 “Then I saw an angel
coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain
in his hand.
Rev 20:2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and
Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;
Rev 20:3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut
him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no
more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be
released for a little while.”
The problem with Islam is that, unlike Christianity, it has no notion of
good spirits and bad spirits.
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.”
Islam has no concept of false prophets, false teachers, false brethren,
and false salvation either. Everyone who
is a Muslim is supposed to be good and saved.
Well, what we have seen in the last few years is a side of Islam that
few people knew it existed.
It is a horrible perversion of truth and reversal of facts to say that
Allah is most merciful and most compassionate when those who claim to be his
followers show so little mercy and compassion, and cut the throats of even well
intentioned guests, including women, who go to Muslim countries to help the
poor and helpless. By contrast, how many
Muslim missionaries do we see helping the poor in Christian countries? No one will ever cut their throats in these
countries. Which is why with all its
faults, God Almighty still greatly favours Christianity above all other
religions of the world.
So callous have those terrorists become that they are massacring their
own people, because they are easy targets, in the hope that in so doing they
may reach some westerners too.
The tragedy of Islam is that its spiritual and secular leaders have not
raise their voices in horror at such atrocities. In so doing they have allowed themselves and
their religion to be identified with those terrorists.
No one has tried harder than we have over the years to bring Islam out
from the cold, so to speak, and put it on the pedestal alongside the other
‘people of the book’, but we have to admit with regret that our efforts have
been in vain. If you cannot reach people
you cannot reason with them, and if you cannot reason with them, you cannot
help them.
We know that God Almighty does not like what is happening in the world,
but has no choice than to let it happen until the world has learned the lesson
that it cannot survive apart from its Creator.
As for the work of those inhuman terrorists, this is what Jesus Christ
is telling them:
Mat 18:7 "Woe to the world
because of offences! For offences must come, but woe to that man by whom the
offence comes!
Luke 17:2 "It would be
better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown
into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.”
No murderer, no hateful destroyer of life, no unbeliever, no sinner of any
kind, will ever be among the blessed of the LORD!
State Of The World – 2004
In the Millennium Kingdom of God there will be a return to the kind of
society that was originally envisioned for Israel, with no separation between
the secular and the religious. No
secular publication, or any that have served the purpose of preaching false
gospels, can make a transition into that Kingdom. This is why The Christian Herald strives to provide as much a witness to the
world of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, as a record of our times for future
generations.
The following is a selection of articles from the world media which
reflect the state of the world in our time.
“Defining the war we're
fighting” Something
needs to be made very clear: The war we wage, the
Two
and a half years after the
A
great irony of the Spanish election is that even as mass-murdering jihadists
take credit for bringing about the Socialist victory -- expected to result in
"The
approaching general elections in
Maybe
the conclusion to be drawn is too horrifying: namely, that in warding off jihadist aggression, we combat an ideology born of a
religion. In the formerly Judeo-Christian, currently relativist-hedonist West,
such a thought triggers near-panic: How can religious worship, pure and unhijacked, inspire anything but goodwill among men? And
aren't terrorist tactics opposed by all but a statistically invisible Islamic
fringe? Perhaps it's better to ask what kind of religion offers salvation in
exchange for unholy acts of violence. And better to wonder how invisible a
fringe is when a recent poll, commissioned by the liberal British newspaper The
Guardian, claims that more than
But
most of us don't ask and don't wonder. Valiantly, we fight
"terrorism." Determinedly, we target "evildoers."
Maybe
it is this same gauzy scrim that has obscured the other kinds of jihad -- quiet
jihad or even cold jihad -- that have transformed the culture of Western
Europe, from Granada, where the first mosque has opened since Christian forces
ended Muslim rule in Spain in 1492, to Oxford, where historian Niall Ferguson
reports that historian Edward Gibbon's prediction that minarets would one day rise
over the university will come true next year with the opening of a grand new
Islamic Studies center.
Such
seismic cultural shifts mainly result from immigration policies that have
introduced vast concentrations of non-assimilating Muslims throughout
“The XXVIII Olympiad
in
"Even
antiwar activist and former Democratic presidential candidate
Howard Dean's heart had to skip a beat when the Iraqi athletes walked into the
magnificent stadium at the Olympic opening ceremony. Boy, did they look happy. Genuinely happy.
Compare their elation - reaching towards the crowd, tapping their hearts
– with the athletes from Iran or Saudi Arabia, who had that smile-or-disappear
look Olympic athletes forlornly wore when they represented the Soviet Union or
the Eastern bloc nations. In a word, the
Iraqis looked free.
It occurred to me watching this pageant of superb sportsmen and
sportswomen that much the same true freedom of spirit could be seen on the
faces of athletes from a list of nations with familiar names –
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Afghanistan, Grenada, Kuwait, South Korea, the
former captive nations of Romania, Bulgaria, the Czechs, Slovakia, Estonia,
Lithuania (all holding elections since the early 1990s), and the other former
Soviet republics.
These Olympians have one thing in common: they come from the nations the
Across the past half century, the
My apologies for ruffling the global fellow feeling
that lies officially beneath the summer Games. But for many Americans, it has become more
than a little tiresome of late hearing how much the Europeans "hate
us" and how the
Let's consider Nedzad Fazlija,
the 36-year-old flag bearer for Bosnia-Herzegovina. He is old enough to remember the friends who
didn't survive the internecine war that burned in a corner of
Here is the official reason the US entered that war: "Over the last
four years, a quarter of a million Bosnians have been killed, more than half of
Bosnia's people have been driven from their homes, a million of they are still
refugees. We have seen parents divided
from their children, children deprived of their dreams, people caged like
animals in concentration camps, women and young girls subject to systematic
rape. We have seen unbelievable
horrors. But now we have a chance to end
this misery for good and we have a responsibility to act."
That was president Bill Clinton on
It is most certainly true that not all US interventions work out well
for local people. Haiti and Somalia
remain disordered. Sudan appears beyond
reach. None has a team in Athens.
Serious people can always measure and debate foreign commitments against
America's interests, goals and resources.
Dean Acheson in 1950 suggested South Korea lay outside America's defence
perimeter. A similar argument is being
made about Iraq – that Bush overstated the threat.
In the meantime, perhaps the athletes from Bosnia, Afghanistan and Nicolae Ceausescu's Romania will find their way to the
Iraqi pavilion to hear familiar stories about living in a land of
exterminations - of Shias murdered in southern Iraq
and Kurds in the north. That has ended,
thanks, as in many other places around the world, to US intervention, however
unnecessary or poorly planned.
We thrill to see Olympic athletes strain across the ground or through
the air and water to free themselves from limits set by nature on physical
human effort. I, for one, am happy that
America has strained to free many more people from man-made limits on personal
freedom, most recently in Iraq. (Daniel Henninger, the author of this article, is deputy editorial
page editor of The Wall Street Journal,
from which this article was reprinted in The
Australian, August 24, 2004)
“Man of History” We are with President Bush who has said, "I am the man who makes
history." Who, other than President Bush, can launch a war against
terrorism? Who else will come to the rescue of people suppressed by dictators?
Who else was there to build and develop nations? and above all who made
democracy the new international system for all the people in this world?
None of the Middle Eastern countries could face terrorism alone. Some of
them went to the extent of making promises and allying with terrorist
organisations. These countries were afraid to kick out terrorists until the
United States arrived on the scene, heading a coalition of the willing to root
out terrorism. Some people may be sceptical about what the US has achieved. But
we know it has not only liberated Afghanistan from Taliban and its ally Osama
Bin Laden but also created a modern democratic country with its own police,
army and other civil institutions. The United States has also liberated the
Iraqi people and created a modern country from the ruins of the former regime.
There are some people who still call the war to liberate Iraq as
"baseless," citing the failure of Americans to find any weapons of
mass destruction (WMD). What they forget
is that the Americans did find many mass graves where millions had been buried
alive. This alone is enough to prove Saddam's regime was more lethal than any
WMD man has known.
Quite recently the US forces have cleansed the holy places in Najaf of the remnants of the former regime and other
infiltrators. When we consider all these there is no doubt Bush is a man who
creates history. Western countries, which were against Bush in his war on
terrorism, are now feeling the painful stings of terrorism. France has two of
its citizens kidnapped in Iraq. The kidnappers have threatened to behead the
French hostages if France fails to reconsider its law, which bans Muslim women
from wearing hijab in schools. Terrorism can be
tackled only through war and only the United States, backed by a President who
creates history, is capable of handling such a war. We must remember Islam has
nothing to do with terrorism. Terrorists exploit the religion to achieve their
objective, which is to destroy civilisation, kill people, start wars and plunge
the world into darkness. We saw how these terrorists kidnapped and killed
innocent people under the cloak of religion only to forget all about their
cause in exchange for a fistful of dollars.
The entire world is aware of the cause and effect of terrorism. The
killing and beheading of some innocent people won't prevent the United States
or its allies from confronting terrorism. Americans are convinced of the need
to fight this menace and no country is better equipped to do this job except
the United States, which has the mightiest armed forces history has ever known.
President Bush has the right to say "I am the man who makes history"
because he is fighting aggression against modern civilisation. He is creating
countries which enjoy democracy, peace, stability and security.
These countries are now able to be a part of the international community
sharing their traditions and culture with the rest of the humanity. Bush is the
President of not only the United States but the whole world for he is making
history on this small planet. (Ahmed Al-Jarallah,
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times – Kuwait, September 9, 2004).
“Muslim
leader plans commemoration of 9/11” “The spiritual leader of a
British Muslim group that is planning a commemoration of 9/11 says he supports
abducting British children, "because Britain has carried out acts of
terrorism in Iraq." The extremist leader of Al-Muhajiroun,
Omar Bakri Mohammed, said this week that he would
support holding women and children as hostages.
Mohammed told The Sunday Telegraph, "If an Iraqi Muslim carried out
an attack like that in Britain, it would be justified because Britain has
carried out acts of terrorism in Iraq.
As long as the Iraqi did not deliberately kill women and children, and
they were killed in the crossfire, that would be
okay." Mohammed, father of seven, came to Britain after being deported
from Saudi Arabia because of his membership in a banned group.
Relating to the horrific school attack in southern
Russia in which close to 400 people have been reported killed, Mohammed said,
"The Mujahideen (Chechen terrorists) would not
have wanted to kill those people, because it is strictly forbidden as a Muslim
to deliberately kill women and children. It is the fault of the Russians."
Al-Muhajiroun plans to hold its third annual commemoration of
the 9/11 attacks with a convention in London titled, "The Choice is in
Your Hands: Either You're with the Muslims or with the Infidels. We want the world to remember this operation
that lifted the head of the Muslim nation." Al-Muhajiroun
claimed, as of last year, no fewer than 30 offices across
“Child martyrdom promoted in Palestine” “An
alarming television segment strongly promoting child "martyrdom" has
returned to official Palestinian Authority TV. The clip has been aired
repeatedly in recent weeks after being taken off the air over a year ago
following widespread outrage. At a US Senate Hearing in October 2003, Director of
Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) Itamar Marcus displayed
extensive documentary evidence that the PA was indoctrinating children to
aspire to heroic death as "Shahids" (martyrs for Allah). Since then,
many PA TV clips that encouraged children to seek martyrdom through involvement
with terrorism were removed. The removal was ostensibly due to the inability of
the PA representative at the Senate hearing to defend the practice, accompanied
by extensive outrage from both the print and TV media. One such clip, which presented a child's
death in combat as "sweet," because it was Death for Allah, was aired
regularly up to the period of condemnations following the October, 2003 Senate
hearings. The clip was taken out of PA TV's rotation and was not aired for
almost a year. Suddenly, according to PMW, the clip is being broadcast again -
at least three times in the last two weeks.
The
segment, known as the "Farewell Letter" clip, features an Arab child
writing a farewell letter to his parents, glorifying his desire to die. The
child then goes out to the combat zone, where he is shot and achieves his death
wish. As he falls in death, the words of his letter are sung twice: "How
sweet is Shahada (Death for Allah) when I embrace you, my land." (The Lekarev Report, September 9, 2004).
“Legacy of hatred”
“The spectacle of
world leaders from Jacques Chirac to Kofi Annan falling over themselves to pay tribute to a corrupt
old terrorist such as Yasser Arafat is truly
nauseating.
Let’s
not forget who Arafat really was.
Besides being the founder of modern terrorism, he was also a gangster, a
showman, a liar and a cheat – a man who salted away millions while his people
starved. A man who signed agreements and
then broke them immediately afterwards.
A man who supported Saddam’s invasion of
Our sympathy should go out instead to the innocent victims of terrorism
still living, those who have buried their children, parents, siblings,
relatives or friends, and to the thousands who have been scarred for life or
have lost homes, businesses and their livelihood. The ghost of Hitler lives on in the legacy of
hated and division that Arafat has left behind.” (Arthur Hurwitz, Letters to the editor, The
Daily Telegraph (Sydney),
“Arafat successor al-Qaida
sympathizer” “New leader of ruling Fatah quotes Mao, favors
For
the last 30 years Qaddumi has headed the Palestinian
Liberation Organization Foreign Affairs Department. He has made it clear that
he sees terrorism as a strategic option for Palestinians. Born in the
"Resistance
is the path to reach political settlement because we do not claim we are
capable of defeating the Israeli army," Qaddumi
told Hezbollah television last week.
"This
policy was determined by the PLO when our brother the martyr, our brother the
president, Abu Amar [Arafat], stood at the United
Nations in 1974 and said: 'I hold a gun in one hand and an olive branch in the
other.'"
Already,
Qaddumi has also called for a wave of attacks against
Although
he opposed the 1993
Israeli
security sources said that after a lull of several years Fatah
agents have resumed using
Fuad Balbisi
has led the Fatah network in
Oil
as weapon Qaddumi also has advocated using the
Islamic oil weapon against the
Qaddumi sees
"These
events will serve as a lesson to the
“Syrian bank funded insurgency with Saddam's millions” The
United States has concluded that
The
Commercial Bank of
During
a hearing by the Senate subcommittee on Nov. 15, Treasury Assistant Secretary
Juan Carlos Zarate asserted that
"What
we found was when we sent our investigators to
Officials
said that over the last 18 months
"We
have folks on the front line right now that are sacrificing their lives, that
are under fire, and somewhere, somehow, there's money being used to fuel that
insurgency," Sen. Norm Coleman, chairman of the permanent investigations
subcommittee of the Senate Government Affairs Committee, said. "And I
would just hope that a very strong message is delivered to the Syrians, that we
get their cooperation, that we track this down and we figure out what's
what."
Officials
said
Officials
said
Officials
said this would comprise a key issue when Congress begins its new session in
2005. Zarate
said Treasury was working with other
“Dutch go to war on
terror. Killing sparks action” An investigation into the murder of
controversial Dutch film-maker Theo van Gogh, whose suspected assailant has
ties to radical Islamists, pointed to a “terrorist conspiracy”, prosecutors
said yesterday . . . The alleged
killer, identified by Dutch media as Mohammed B, was remanded in custody for 10
days together with four men of Moroccan and Algerian descent . . . The suspect has so far refused to speak to
investigators.
Dutch deputy prime minister Gerrit Zalm vowed, after a meeting of all cabinet ministers
yesterday, to fight Muslim extremism. A
letter left on the body of van Gogh threatened the Somalian-born
Dutch liberal politician Hirsi Ali because it said
she had turned away from Islam, as well as
“Medicines Sans
Frontiers the latest casualty in a war with no boundaries” These are dangerous times for doing good. Perhaps, the most dangerous ever. Citing the “extreme risk” to its workers, the
global medical relief agency, Medicines Sans Frontiers – Doctors Without Borders (MSF) – announced yesterday it was pulling
out of
CARE Australia closed its doors following the kidnapping of its
Irish-Iraqi office head, Margaret Hassan, last
month. In
These are frontline humanitarian organisations, seasoned experts in
running the gauntlet of perilous battlefields. They do not scare easily, nor
take lightly what it means to cut the humanitarian lifeline in a conflict
zone. But, therein lies the first
problem. The battle fields of the
so-called “war on terror” are not drawn in neat lines on the map, with two
sides decently sporting the colours of their allegiance, the protective flag of
neutrality raised over relief teams scurrying around in the despair of no man’s
land. The new battlefield is virtually unrecognisable. “We are just living it and experiencing
it. In a few years time we might be able
to say what it was,” says Pierre Krahenbuhl, head of operations at the ICRC, of asymmetric
unconventional conflicts, in which everyone – civilian or combatant – is a
potential target.” (Louise Williams, Sydney Morning Herald, Weekend Edition,
November
“Insanity and evil
run in the blood” “The bloody knife used in the
A group of five black-masked gunmen pose beneath an Arabic banner
proclaiming blessings upon their ghastly mission as their leader, understood to
be senior al-Qaeda figure Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, reads a list of bogus charges behind the kneeling
and blindfolded captive.
Then the Jordanian-born al-Zarqawi steps forward,
knocks the quivering prisoner over and begins sawing at his neck with a large
knife, knocking off his blind-fold. The
choked screaming made as the blade tears into Mr Armstrong’s now blood-filled
throat is horrifyingly audible. Hours
later, the same group announced it had “executed” Mr Armstrong’s companion,
American Jack Hensley, and was preparing to kill Briton Kenneth Bigley.
Mocking all pretence to decency, humanity and civilisation, the
murderers claimed that their slaughter was carried out in the name of
Allah. But these acts are godless,
furiously anti-religious. There is not a
scintilla of mercy – only evil hatred.
As there was when three Kurds had their throats cut earlier this week,
and a dozen Nepalese, and the Turks . . .
Al-Zarqawi’s gang claim they wanted the
release of “all Muslim women” being held by the US military in Iraq but
apparently there were only two – Rihab Taha, a microbiologist nicknamed “Dr Germ” who run Iraq’s
biological weapons program in the late ‘80s, and Huda
Ammash, also in the weapons program and known as “Mrs
Anthrax”. Neither are in the Abu Ghraib or Um Wasr prisons.
That they played major roles in Saddam Hussein’s murderous regime makes
no difference to al-Zarqawi., they are no more than
excuses for his bloody acts of barbarism.
Those opposed to the liberation of
As US Seretary of State
Colin Powell told the UN of
Al-Zarqawi was an honoured guest of Saddam’s
in
With the ousting of the Taliban, he took his team to north-eastern
Despite the clear lines running from al-Qaeda to terrorists such as the
captured September 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his convicted Australian protégé
Jack Roche, Opposition Leader Mark Latham’s policy is not to recognise the
threat of international terrorism until it turns up within a boat ride of
Australia and to then meet with the coast guard.
British Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair sees the problem somewhat
differently and acknowledges that the second
Mark Latham wants
To do so would be to unravel the work the international coalition has
achieved since the fall of Saddam’s regime and, though you wouldn’t know it
watching the ABC and SBS or from reading
As the respected military historian John Keegan pointed out in The Daily Telegraph in
“Western so-called progressives who denounce the war of 2003 as a
mistake are in fact illiberal and reactionaries. They should be ashamed of themselves.”
The evil medieval forces in
This is not the time to show weakness by cutting and running. This is the time for fortitude and resolution.
Not since WWII has the civilised world faced a greater threat to its existence
than that represented by the brutal beheadings in
“Ignorant attacks
hurt innocent Muslims” 11.10 am Thursday, September 23 –
Female talkback caller says she agrees that Australians should not allow
Muslims to enter the country and thinks Muslims already in Australia should not
be allowed to leave.
11.29 am – Host asks why there is a prayer room
[for Muslims] at
Listening to comments on talkback, one begins to understand why Muslims
feel increasingly under attack.
Islam is misrepresented, Muslims are stereotyped and experts who are not
educated in the faith are telling mass audiences what the religion teaches –
not based on the teachings but their own fears and apprehensions . . .
Is these comments were made in
Why are these comments being made?
Is our society so desensitised towards Muslims that it will accept any
criticism of Muslims and Islam, regardless of how spurious such allegations
are?” (Keysar Trad, Assistant to the Mufti of Australia and a director of
the Lebanese Muslims Associations, The
Daily Telegraph, November 2, 2004).
How charming. Only a Mufti could give
“Muslim group takes
responsibility for 9-11: We Are So
Sorry”
This September 11 marks the third unforgettable
anniversary of the worst mass murder in American history. After September 11, many in the Muslim world
chose denial and hallucination rather than face up to the sad fact that Muslims
perpetrated the 9-11 terrorist acts and that we have an enormous problem with
extremism and support for terrorism. Many Muslims, including religious leaders,
and “intellectuals” blamed 9-11 on a Jewish conspiracy and went as far as
fabricating a tale that 4000 Jews did not show up for work in the World Trade Center on 9-11. Yet others blamed 9-11 on an American right
wing conspiracy or the U.S. Government which allegedly wanted an excuse to
invade
After numerous admissions of guilt by Bin Laden and numerous
corroborating admissions by captured top level Al-Qaida
operatives, we wonder, does the Muslim leadership have the dignity and courage
to apologize for 9-11?
If not 9-11, will we apologize for the murder of school children in
If not
If not
If not suicide bombings, will we apologize for the barbaric beheadings
of human beings?
If not beheadings, will we apologize for the rape and murder of
thousands of innocent people in Darfour?
If not Darfour, will we apologize for the
blowing up of two Russian planes by Muslim women?
What will we apologize for?
What will it take for Muslims to realize that those who commit mass
murder in the name of Islam are not just a few fringe elements?
What will it take for Muslims to realize that we are facing a crisis
that is more deadly than the AIDS epidemic?
What will it take for Muslims to realize that there is a large evil
movement that is turning what was a peaceful religion into a cult?
Will Muslims wake up before it is too late? Or will we continue blaming
the Jews and an imaginary Jewish conspiracy? The blaming of all Muslim problems
on Jews is a cancer that is destroying Muslim society from within and it must
stop.
Muslims must look inward and put a stop to many of our religious leaders
who spend most of their sermons teaching hatred, intolerance and violent jihad.
We should not be afraid to admit that as Muslims we have a problem with violent
extremism. We should not be afraid to admit that so many of our religious
leaders belong behind bars and not behind a pulpit.
Only moderate Muslims can challenge and defeat extremist Muslims. We can
no longer afford to be silent. If we remain silent to the extremism within our
community then we should not expect anyone to listen to us when we complain of
stereotyping and discrimination by non-Muslims; we should not be surprised when
the world treats all of us as terrorists; we should not be surprised when we
are profiled at airports. Simply put,
not only do Muslims need to join the war against terror, we need to take the
lead in this war. As to apologizing, we
will no longer wait for our religious leaders and “intellectuals” to do the
right thing. Instead, we will start by apologizing for 9-11.
We are so sorry that 3000 people were murdered in our name. We will
never forget the sight of people jumping from two of the highest buildings in
the world hoping against hope that if they moved their arms fast enough they
may fly and survive a certain death from burning.
We are sorry for blaming 9-11 on a Jewish or right wing conspiracy.
We are so sorry for the murder of more than three hundred school
children and adults in
We are so sorry for the murder of train passengers in
We are so sorry for all the victims of suicide bombings. We are so sorry
for the beheadings, abductions, rapes, violent Jihad and all the atrocities
committed by Muslims around the world.
We are so sorry for a religious education that raised killers rather
than train people to do good in the world. We are sorry that we did not take
the time to teach our children tolerance and respect for other people.
We are so sorry for not rising up against the dictators who have ruled
the Muslim world for decades.
We are so sorry for allowing corruption to spread so fast and so deep in
the Muslim world that many of our youth lost hope.
We are so sorry for allowing our religious leaders to relegate women to
the status of forth class citizens at best and sub-humans at worse. We are so
sorry. (www.freemuslims.org,
“Sign Petition to
Punish Religious Leaders who Preach Violence and Justify Terrorism” “The Free
Muslims Against Terrorism (Free Muslims) have partnered with progressive Arabs
and Muslims to hold religious leaders accountable for justifying violence and
encouraging terrorism. The Free Muslims
are petitioning the UN Security Council and the
This petition is a follow up to the recently adopted UN Resolution 1566
that reads in part: "...[A]ll members of the Security
Council to consider and submit recommendations... on practical measures to be
imposed upon, individuals … involved in or associated with terrorist
activities…bringing them to justice through prosecution or extradition,
freezing of their financial assets..."
It is crucial to hold these religious leaders accountable because most
terrorists who kill in the name of Islam rely on the fatwas
and conclusions of these religious leaders to convince themselves that they are
going to heaven after their death.
The Following is an example of a Fatwa that encourages terrorism:
Sheikh Yousif Al-Qardhawi
issued a Fatwa permitting the killing of “fetuses”
(unborn) Jews, because (according to him) when Jews are born and grown-up they
will join the Israeli army. Furthermore,
on
These extremist clerics continue to issue fatwas
that incite terrorism under the false umbrella of Islam. Join us in stopping these religious leaders
by signing this petition requesting the U.N. to create an International
Tribunal to prosecute them.
This petition has been organized by Dr. Jawad Hashim (
All people are invited to sign this petition by sending your name,
profession, country of residence and nationality to Jmhashim@hotmail.com and
cc: President@freemuslims.org. Write
“petition” in the subject line. For more
information visit our website at: www.freemuslims.org (Free Muslim Coalition Against
Terrorism",
“Vatican helps Saddam deputy fight war case” “London: Saddam Hussein’s
former foreign minister and deputy prime minister has persuaded sympathisers in
the Vatican to arrange free legal advise for his defence against war crimes.
Tariq Aziz,
a practicing Christian (how a man whose
regime was responsible for mote than three hundred mass graves could be a“practicing Christian” we do not know. Ed.), secured
the services of Italian lawyers after contacting a group of Catholic priests
and bishops.
He
wrote to his family from jail in
The
campaign also has the backing of Monsignor Emmanuel Delly,
the Patriarch of Baghdad and spiritual leader of
The
church’s involvement in Aziz’s defence could prove
embarrassing for
Father
Benjamin received a letter from Cardinal Abgelo Sodano, the
“Agenda for new Congress: Get
For
years, individuals and organizations have warned that the United Nations is
implementing an agenda that ultimately leads to total global control. These
warnings have been discounted by the media and ridiculed by the
"enlightened" as the blathering of "black helicopter conspiracy
freaks."
Putting
aside, for the moment, the U.N.'s agenda, the blatant corruption, deceit and
open opposition to all things American, combined with the U.N.'s consistent
failure to stop the slaughter of refugees in the
What
exactly does the
We
get harangued at every U.N. meeting by people who blame the
President
Bush has indicated rather strongly that his patience with the U.N. has limits.
He has also indicated his willingness to work with the U.N. in some areas, such
as UNESCO. This position is confusing, particularly to conservatives. It could
be interpreted as the president's effort to be engaged in the international
community, but not bound by it. The
Why
not get rid of it? The new Congress that convenes in January could adopt Rep.
Ron Paul's proposal to completely withdraw from the U.N. Every year this bill
has been introduced, it has received more and more votes. The U.N.'s refusal to
cooperate with congressional investigations of the oil-for-food program could
inspire sufficient wrath in Congress to finally authorize withdrawal from the
U.N. Congress could stop short of withdrawal and stop all funding of the U.N.,
pending a congressional review. Each U.N. agency should be reviewed for
relevance and benefit before receiving
Should
these U.N. agencies be subjected to a congressional review, what would quickly become apparent is the
presence of a comprehensive agenda.
While each U.N. agency is responsible for implementing specific programs
within its particular jurisdiction, each program and every agency is working from the same playbook – toward a
comprehensive agenda.
The
ultimate goal of the agenda is to transform the system of governance for the
entire world, regardless of the type of government in any nation. The new
system of governance is best described as "Administrative
Governance." In this system, public policy is made by professionals, with
input from the people only through approved and duly accredited non-government
organizations. Public policy is then
"administered" by participating governments – regardless of the type
of government – through treaties and agreements arranged and enforced by the
U.N. Implementation of public policy is policed by the same NGOs that helped
shape the policies.
The
United Nations then becomes the supreme policy-making body. Each participating
nation – by treaty or agreement – becomes an administrative unit. In the
The U.N.'s agenda and its corruption provide
ample reasons for the
“Irrelevant [UN]
wingers let the world down” “The United
Nations has failed the victims of the Sumatran tsunami.
UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan,
who wouldn’t brake his skiing vocation to tackle the
crisis, should be thrown out the door of the
UN
Humanitarian Affairs Under-Secretary Jan Egeland
should be tossed out as well, after bagging the
Of
course, it’s fashionable for the elitist latte-sipping chiefs of the UN to be
critical of the
Mr
Annan’s biggest initiative so far has been to call an
international conference for January 11 – and that’s still a full week away –
while obliquely criticising US President George W. Bush for moving to
co-ordinate the activities of the flying foursome!
Typical
of the latte-lappers is former UK development secretary Clare Short who said
the co-ordinating role should be left to the UN because “I think this
initiative from America to set up four countries claiming to co-ordinate sounds
like yet another attempt to undermine the UN when it is the best system we have
got and the one that needs building up.
“Only really the UN can do that job,” she told BBC Radio Four’s PM
program. “It is the only body that has
the moral authority.” Give me a
brake. The US, Japan, India, and
Australia, already in the field, distributing supplies, setting up field
hospitals, arranging for sanitation and clean water, don’t have the moral
authority for tsunami crisis relief?
What a joke. I’m proud of the fact
that Australia is right at the forefront of the international aid effort, that
Australian officials are in charge of all consular activities for all nations
in Thailand and in particular are co-ordinating the international effort to
trace all missing foreigners in the stricken tourist areas, working to
establish the identities of the dead and locate all Western tourists.
It
is to be hoped that our participation does not go unnoticed by the Islamic
community in
Perhaps
our local Islamic leaders could let their brothers abroad know exactly how much
the Christian Western nations are contributing at this time to the affected
Muslims and counter propaganda that spews out of the
terrorists’ news network, al-Jazeera. They might even point out that their hated
Opposition
foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd has complemented the Government on the
manner in which it has risen to meet the demands flowing from the
disaster. His positive and constructive
stance can’t be faulted. . .
The
tsunami has accurately shown how a coalition of likeminded nations can act
promptly and work together while dysfunctional UN issues grandiose statements
and attempts to justify its bloated presence.
If the UN feels it has been snubbed by the efforts of the coalition, let
it raise this matter when it meets next week. No-one could care less because
no-one will be listening. The doers will
be in the field flying helicopters, unloading the C-130s, and setting up field
hospitals where they are needed, not sitting around conference tables in Geneva
fiddling their claims and trying to think up ways of demeaning the efforts of
Australia, the US, India and Japan.
Under
Kofi Annan, the UN failed
in
This
lesson must not be forgotten when the UN’s multilateralists
jump on their soap boxes in the future and presume to tell Australia, and other
advanced nations, how they should conduct themselves.” Pier Akerman, The Daily Telegraph,
“TROUBLE IN THE HOLY LAND” “Officials
praise Arafat as 'jihad' warrior” Following announcement of the death of Yasser Arafat last Thursday, Palestinian officials and
leaders spoke candidly in Arabic-language television interviews of their
continued commitment to "jihad," or holy war, and the elimination of
Israel.
On
Al-'Alam TV in Iran, Friday, the Palestinian
ambassador to Tehran, Salah Zawawi,
praised Arafat as a "martyr" who understood it was only a matter of
time before Israel would be eradicated. The video clip was recorded and
translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute TV Monitor Project, or
MEMRI TV.
"This
man knew that this path is the path of martyrdom and jihad. He knew that this
great cause requires martyrs, not leaders, who look after their personal future
and not the nation's future," Zawawi said.
Arafat
"fought the jihad and we saw him in many battles," the ambassador
continued. "Sometimes he was right and sometimes he erred. And whenever he
erred, we would tell him: this is a mistake. And whenever he was right we would
praise him. And now he is gone.
"If
you ask me what will surely be the end of this Zionist entity, I will say to
you that this entity will disappear one of these days," said Zawawi. "And its leaders, who can see what will be in
the future, understand this. It's a matter of time."
The
Fatah leader noted a "change in the world."
"
In
an interview that day with the same
After
Arafat's death, the group renamed itself Yasser Arafat
Martyrs Brigades. "We in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs
Brigades will direct our painful blows against this monstrous entity," Al-Aidi continued. "The Palestinian state will be
achieved only by strengthening the resistance, supporting the resistance, and
continuing the resistance, until this oppressing occupier leaves our land,
since this occupier doesn't understand the language of peace or
surrender."
The
terrorist group's leader said Israel understands "only the language of
gunfire and gun powder and we will teach this occupier, Allah willing, a lesson
as we have taught it in the past, in Tel Aviv, Hadera,
and everywhere."
(WorldNetDaily.com,
“WARS AND RUMORS OF WARS” “
"The entire Zionist territory, including its nuclear facilities and
atomic arsenal, are currently within range of Iran's advanced missiles,"
the ISNA students news agency quoted Yadollah Javani, head of the Revolutionary Guards political bureau,
as saying.
"Therefore, neither the Zionist regime nor
"Such statements by
An Israeli defense source said "
Iran to confront USA “Maariv has confirmed through western
intelligence sources that Iran's hardline leaders have decided that risking a
confrontation with the US over their nuclear weapons development program rather
than make any concessions is worth the risk. At a recent meeting of the Iranian
leadership, currently totally dominated by the conservative hard liners, it was
decided that Teheran could risk taking an uncompromising position. This
position was supported by most of the participants, including former president
Rafsanjani, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's most
trusted and respected counsellor regarding foreign affairs.
“
The
National Council of Resistance of Iran, which has in the past given accurate
information on some of
Iran
has acknowledged it can make large numbers of medium-range Shahab-3 ballistic
missiles, capable of hitting Israel or US bases in the Gulf, but has repeatedly
denied Israeli accusations that it is developing the Shahab-4.
“Militarily
speaking, by obtaining long-range and medium-range missiles, the clerics are
trying to put many regions of the world, including all of
“Israel: EU Should Not Be Fooled by Iran” The European Union should not be fooled by
Iran, which will "never" abandon its bid to make nuclear weapons,
warned Israeli foreign Minister Silvan Shalom yesterday. Shalom told the EU's
Dutch presidency in a meeting at
"I
told them we are very sceptical because we know what the real intentions of the
Iranians are, we know that they will never abandon their dream to have a
nuclear bomb," Shalom said. (The
Lekarev Report,
“
The
weekly, citing a secret service file, said that Iranian supreme leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had personally ordered the
facility built last month near the uranium enrichment site in
“What's Wrong with this Picture?” It is more than
interesting to note that
Commentator
Naomi Ragen noted, "Given the fact that
“How We’re Helping Out” “The massive
injection of funds catapulted Australia to the top of a list of donor nations,
with A$I billion from the government and more than 135 million from private
donations, creating ties with the region that no amount of talk or trade cold
have matched.” In addition,
Australian aid workers – 18 Oxfam, eight Red Cross, two Caritas
delegates, four Medicines Sans Frontier, five CARE Australia and CARE
International. A 25-person civilian team
arrived in Aceh on Thursday. A 20-person medical team from
THE CHRISTIAN HOLY
DAYS
FOR
THE YEARS
|
|
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
The
Passover (Pesah
- Nissan 14) Unlike the Jews, who used to kill the Passover
lamb “at the twilight” of Nissan 14 (meaning in the evening towards Nissan
15), we, Christians, observe the Passover when our “Lamb” – Jesus Christ –
was sacrificed. That happened on the afternoon of Nissan 14, before the
twilight of Nissan 14, meaning that we keep it a little earlier than the
Jews. We commemorate His death, not His supper, which occurred the
previous evening, as some churches do. The time when His body was broken, not
when He broke the symbolic bread. |
|
23 April |
12 April |
2 April |
Days of
Unleavened Bread
(Nissan
15 – 21) On
the first and seventh days there shall be holy convocations. No work shall be done on
these days. |
|
24 – 30 April |
13 – 19 April |
|
Pentecost (Shavuot –
Sivan 6) |
|
13 June |
2 June |
23 May |
Feast of
Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah -
Tishri 1) |
|
4 Oct. |
23 Sept. |
13 Sept. |
Day of
Atonement (Yom Kippur – Tishri
10) |
|
13 Oct. |
2 Oct. |
22 Sept. |
Feast of
Tabernacles (Succoth -- Tishri
15 – 22) |
|
18 – 25 Oct. |
|
27 Sept. – 4 Oct. |
On the first and the eighth
days there shall be holy convocations. No
work shall be done on these days.