What else could go wrong with
our much-troubled planet?
Natural Disasters
- Climate change is wreaking havoc with
people’s lives around the world, nowhere more so than in
- Agriculture
is in turmoil everywhere. Deserts are
advancing at alarming speeds in Asia, Sub-Sahara, Australia, and elsewhere, and
fresh water is becoming a precious commodity all over the world, either as a
result of pollution or because glaciers, their source, are disappearing,
nowhere more so than in the Middle East, the perennial trouble spot of the
world.
- Polar
ice caps are melting at both ends of the planet. Millions of people, if not
billions, are waking up to the reality of global warming. Assets accumulated in lifetime of labour,
are fast losing value because of rising seawaters. One scientist has estimated that if all of
- Oceans
are dying because of acidification. Scientists
are saying that this is occurring at a much faster rate than previously
thought. This on top of the dangerous
depletion of fish stocks because of overfishing.
Every
assessment scientists have made in the last few years about global warming and climate
change has turned out to be far too conservative.
"Severe damages are imminent," the group said Friday in a
statement summing up its deliberations at a symposium in
Jeremy Jackson, a coral expert at the Scripps Institution of
Oceanography in
Carbon dioxide, principally from the burning of fossil fuels, is the
major component of greenhouse gas emissions, which have risen steadily since
the beginning of the industrial revolution in the 18th century. Oceans absorb about a quarter of carbon
dioxide emissions, the group said, but as the gas dissolves in the oceans it produces
carbonic acid. The group said acidity of ocean surface waters has
increased by 30 percent since the 17th century.
"The chemistry is so fundamental and changes so rapid and severe
that impacts on organisms appear unavoidable," according to James Orr, who
headed the symposium's scientific committee. Orr is a chemical oceanographer at
the Marine Environmental Laboratory in
And if that is still not
convincing, here is a copy of a transcript of an ABC Lateline program, titled, “Leading scientists
discuss latest climate change”
TONY JONES,
PRESENTER: The Government and the Opposition have been jockeying in recent days
over who can do the most to tackle climate change while doing the least to hurt
the Australian economy. Shortly we will hear from the Opposition spokesman
Andrew Robb and leader of the Australian Greens Senator Bob Brown. But first, Margot O'Neill caught up with two
of
MARGOT
O'NEILL, REPORTER: Scientists and some politicians say the climate has already
changed irreversibly.
JOHN BRUMBY,
VICTORIAN PREMIER (archive footage, '7.30 Report', Feb. 9): There's clear
evidence now that the climate is becoming more extreme. You know, those people
who doubted that - we had temperatures of 48 degrees.
MARGOT
O'NEILL: The signs are now so worrying that Dr Michael Raupach from the CSIRO believes
we risk tipping permanently into a far warmer climate akin to when dinosaurs
walked the earth.
MICHAEL
RAUPACH, CSIRO: It will be very difficult to have a planet of nine billion
people find its way through that sort of climate transition without major
disaster.
MARGOT
O'NEILL: Even though global carbon emissions are likely to fall in the next two
years as the international economy falters, the world still faces a temperature
rise of up to two degrees because of the amount of CO2 already locked in the
atmosphere. That puts us on the brink of dangerous climate change. And without
dramatically restructuring economies to ensure carbon emissions continue to
fall, C02 levels are likely to soar again once the world economy rebounds. The
problem is that many eco-systems are already showing signs of potentially
catastrophic failure. Like the Amazon
rainforest, which has helped absorb the world's C02, but now there are signs
it's absorbing less and less.
MICHAEL
RAUPACH: There is new evidence starting to appear that we are already seeing
responses of the carbon exchanges between the Amazon rainforest and the
atmosphere responding to drought. In other words, that as drought hits, the
carbon in the rainforest starts to be released to the atmosphere, that Amazon
rainforest becomes a source of carbon rather than a sink of carbon.
MARGOT
O'NEILL: Professor Matthew England, along with Dr Raupach, is among 30
Australian scientists preparing for an international conference in
MATTHEW
ENGLAND, UNSW: The Greenland ice sheet is even more troubling because that
actually regulates our sea level, and we're seeing melt rates there that are -
you know, faster than they've ever been measured. And, you know, the
glaciologists are basically saying it's not when the - sorry, it's not if the
ice sheet disintegrates, it's more a case of when, whether it's gonna be in the
next few hundred years or beyond that. And this is seven metres of global sea
level rise we're locking into, which totally rearranges the world's maps.
MARGOT
O'NEILL: The urgency of the science is why the Government's proposed emissions
trading scheme should be dumped in favour of a straight carbon tax, according
to economist Richard Dennis. He argues the Government's trading scheme locks in
only small carbon reductions and it's now opposed by green groups as well as
some right wing lobbies.
RICHARD
DENNISS, AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE: It's badly designed, it has the wrong targets and
the harder individuals try to reduce emissions, the less effort that the big
polluters need to put in. They need to go back to the drawing boards on this,
or we need an alternative like a carbon tax.
MARGOT
O'NEILL: But the Climate Institute's John Connor argues the Government should
keep the scheme but increase its reduction targets.
JOHN CONNOR,
CLIMATE INSTITUTE: We need to fix those up - there's no question about that. I
am concerned about things like a carbon tax. For me it's an annual rent-seeking
carnival which I don't think the interests of the environment, of the planet or
even a cleaner economy are going to benefit.
MARGOT
O'NEILL: As our scientists prepare to head off to
MATTHEW
MARGOT
O'NEILL: More than a thousand scientists and policy experts will compare the
latest research on climate change when they meet next month. (ABC TV, Lateline,
Now if the scientific community no longer
has any doubt about climate change and global warming, the religious world is
yet to be convinced. Our struggle with
traditional and fundamentalist churches is well known. Therefore, we let other people speak on this
topic too.
“Pell-mell into contradictions” “IS ANYONE
else bemused by Archbishop George Pell’s ruminations about climate change? His eminence was at it again on Sunday, using
his newspaper column to repeat his assertion that he’s yet to see any firm
scientific evidence that the planet is definitely hotter.
Pell is
entitled to the view and he certainly isn’t alone in putting it. But given the nature of his day job, it’s
kind of hilarious to see this great empiricist demanding the most rigorous
evidentiary standards for something which most scientists support. It certainly jars with the other stuff that
he’s prepared to accept –the immaculate conception, for starters, the
water-into-wine party trick Jesus used to pull, or the amazing recovery of that
Lazarus fellow who, after an extended bout of death, roared back to life and
lived to a ripe old age.
If you admire
stirrers and contrarians, Pell is an easy bloke to like. It’s always puzzled me
how so many of his critics whip themselves into a lather over his views on
abortion and gay marriage. He is a company man and is just toeing the
It is clear that this Satanist with his
“Year 9 science subjects” is no friend of ours.
How fitting that he and Pell are work colleagues. What is not fitting is that they should
publish their diatribes in one of
These kinds of people have brought
calamity upon this country and the world.
You would think that at least in times
like these they would give God a chance. But no, their vanity is too great for
that.
It
is remarkable that even Cardinal Pell’s colleagues have noticed his denial
mood. What they do not know is why he is doing it. This is what we wrote in our last edition in
reply to a letter from religious leaders who hold the same views as Cardinal
Pell.
“Long
ago, we learned that it is futile to try to reason with these kinds of people.
When, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary, they still maintain that
climate change is a hoax, what can you say? And for good measure they underline
that word too.
These
people would never admit to global warming even if they are being scorched to
death by it. Why? Because they know that global warming is an
end time sign and they do not want to see that coming in their life time, for
if it does they know that they are finished.
The Scriptures make it clear that in the end time, aside from the two
witnesses, all other religious leaders will preach false gospels.
The
reason we keep on sending God’s messages to these people too, as we do to other
world leaders, is because our heavenly Father wants us to continue doing so,
per chance they may come to their senses, turn around from the path of
self-destruction and care for their members as they care for themselves.
What
world are these people living in that they think climate change is a hoax? They say that this idea is ridiculed by
scientists. We do not know what
scientists they are referring to, but what we do know is that the following
scientific reports are not hoaxes.” (The
Christian Herald No 18, p. 27)
We went on and published articles with titles like
these, “Arctic ice melting 30
years too soon”
and “Antarctic
ice sheet melting fast”. That says enough.
Now if
natural disasters have been the main concern for humanity for a decade or so,
last year it was suddenly hit by new and unprecedented man made disasters.
Man Made Disasters
If ‘natural’
disasters were not enough, the world is now grappling with man made disasters
that have shaken civilisation to its foundation: sudden financial and economic
meltdown such as the world has never seen.
Economies are
shrinking, stock markets are plunging, factories are closing, unemployment is
skyrocketing, and peoples are losing homes and retirement savings.
Governments
keep pumping trillions of dollars into bankrupt financial institutions, yet
there are few signs that they make much of a difference: more banks, more
companies, more financial institutions are getting bankrupt everywhere.
Experts have
blamed
I am not an
economist, so I cannot pretend to understand all the intricacies of modern
economics, but I have done a lot of reading trying to understand this
phenomenon. What I discovered is nothing
short of unbelievable. People have
simply given up on dealing honestly with their fellow human beings. Greed is what is moving this world, not
honesty, trust and credit. Bank balance
sheets are not worth the paper they are written on. Trillions of dollars injected into financial
institutions in order to restore the credit needed to keep modern economies
moving are vanishing without trace as if in a black hole. I cannot help seeing the words of Apostle
Paul being fulfilled everywhere I look.
The world has
been bombarded with the notion that sub-prime lending to customers who could
not maintain mortgage payments for too long is the reason for
No, the truth
is that modern world, with its intricate interconnecting financial and economic
systems, has been built on sand, or better said, on greed, deception,
corruption, and falsehood.
It all
started with insurance policies against failure. Banks that lent to poor people, whom they
expected to fail before long, took out insurance policies from other banks
against such an outcome. But the
insuring banks, or financial institutions, decided that they too wanted to be
insured against failure, and so they took insurance from other banks too. And so began the chain of insurance: banks
insuring banks, insuring banks, insuring banks, in a chain that resembled the
spokes of a bicycle wheel in the end.
This had two
effects: first, it created the illusion of wealth. The original real estate asset ended up on
the books of a number of banks. Every
new transaction generated commissions and dividends along the way, so bank
managers did not care if a few mortgages went bankrupt. They had already generated enough income to
be dispensable. Bank managers encouraged
the issue of such mortgages even when they knew that they were risky, because
that inflated their balance sheets, and their salaries and commissions.
And so, the
original real estate asset, which was real to begin with, became a bubble when
it generated illusionary wealth on the balance sheets of a number of
banks. It was a pyramidal scheme of
things, only that this time it had the stamp of approval of financial leaders,
government departments, and regulatory authorities.
Honest
people, who had worked a lifetime to pay their mortgages, were encouraged to
borrow money on account of their assets, and invest in this bubble economy in
order to get rich quick. And so, when
this pyramidal scheme of things failed, as it was bound to, many more than the
poor found themselves on destitute lines.
Second: When
American entrepreneurs discovered that they could create wealth out of nothing,
and their market became saturated or too small for their schemes, they took
their gospel to the world. And, sure
enough, when European, Asian, and other banks got whiff of the American way of
making money, they joined the bandwagon.
Central Banks kept on printing money in order to reflect the new
acquired wealth. Out the door went the
checks that kept a correlation between real wealth and productivity, and the
printing of new notes.
The financial
system of the entire world ended up being held up by nothing but artificial
props that could collapse anytime. And
collapse they did. When real estate
bankruptcies became a torrent in
This explains
why credit, without which no economy could work, has drained, and banks refuse
to lend to each other anymore. They do
not know which is solvent and which is not.
Fabulous balance sheets mean nothing, for they all know that they do not
tell the truth, or reflect reality anymore.
After
extensive research through specialist literature, we have selected two articles
that we believe best explain what is happening in the world at present. First, an article from the International Herald Tribune.
"The
Zedillo said that
"There aren't that many safe havens," said Alan Blinder, a
Instead, he suggested, it is the dollar's long-term value against other
currencies that is vulnerable. "At some point, there may be so much
Treasury debt that investors may start wondering if they are overloaded in
dollar assets," Blinder said.
The focus in
Jarrett, a confidante of Obama and his wife, Michelle, is the
highest-ranking administration official at Davos.
To be sure, Congress and the White House will ultimately need to refill
the government's coffers, but how they might do that is barely on the radar
screen in
"Even before Obama walked through the White House door, there were
plans for $1 trillion of new debt," said Niall Ferguson, a
"You either crowd out other borrowers or you print money,"
Ferguson was particularly struck by the new borrowing because the roots
of the current crisis lay in an excess of American debt at all levels, from
individual homeowners with subprime mortgages to Wall Street banks who let
their balance sheets balloon.
"This is a crisis of excessive debt, which reached 355 percent of
American gross domestic product," he said. "It cannot be solved with
more debt."
To make matters worse, he said, the
The stimulus is widely expected to pass, but once it does, Roach said
the focus would shift to "who foots
the bill and what is the exit strategy. We don't have the answer to
either question."
Zedillo, who remembers the way
And here is a transcript of a program
from
George Negus
(presenter and interviewer): Given the
severity of the financial crisis preoccupying the globe, Barrack Obama’s 800
billion dollars stimulus package was meant to grab the world’s attention; but
did it?
But when Wall
Street veteran Bill Rogers speaks, the investment community actually tends to
take notice. After all, he is a former business partner of billionaire
philanthropist George Soros.
Earlier this
month, he raised the ire of Gordon Brown when he declared
Jin Rogers
thanks for your time. As I understand
it, your views on the current world financial economic crisis are pretty
blunt. I mean is it true that you
believe, given what we’ve been hearing from Barrack Obama about this stimulus
plan, that that is going to make things worse rather than better?
Jim Rogers:
Well the people who get the money, George, is going to make it better for them,
but for the rest of the country, and the rest of the world, no, is not going to
make things better, is going to make them worse. We are in perilous times, and he doesn’t seem
to understand that he is making things much worse.
G.N. I guess I have to ask you, I knew that you’ve
had years of experience on the financial markets, etc. Does anybody really knows, let alone the
cause of this, what the solution is?
J.R. Well, I’ll tell you what has worked in the
past George. What has worked in the past
is that people go bankrupt when they fail, you clean up the system, you take a
year, or two, or three, of paying whatever it is, and then you start all over. The confident people come in, take over the
assets from incompetent people, and you star over.
This way of
bailing out everybody in sight just doesn’t work. The Japanese tried it in 1990s, they had
zombie banks, zombie companies, and they still talk about the 1990s as the
lowest decade. It is 19 years later in
G.N. So you
are saying all this bailing out that is going on, just bailing people out,
seems, as you’ve suggested, to be the way that everybody thinks we should go,
that’s what the stimulus packages are all about, to get people to spend more
money. I mean there is no way in the world, that you, or me, or anybody else,
is going to stop the Obamas, and the Browns, and the Rudds of this world, in
our case, from going ahead with these stimulus packages.
J.R. I am afraid you are right. All these
politicians, they run around, they think they‘ve got to be doing something,
they pass out enough money and hope that they will get through to the next
election and someday things will be OK.
Unfortunately they are not going to be OK. The only way we are going to
get rid of them is these programs are going to fail and then they will be
thrown out of office.
G.N. What
about our friend Mr. Bernanke saying that this will be all over by the end of
this year. I mean, he is a little bit
more optimistic than yourself, to say the least.
J.R. George, Mr. Bernanke has never been right for
five … what he’s been in government for six or seven years, he has never been
right. If I came on your tv show every
week and was wrong eight or nine weeks in a row, you’d probably stop inviting
me. Mr. Bernanke has been wrong three
hundred weeks in a row. He has never been right.
If you get
your advise from Mr Bernanke, George, you are going to get broke very quickly.
G.N. And
apparently you are not a fan of the current Secretary of the Treasury either.
J.R. Oh my
God! You bat me for my nervous system
George. Of course not! Mr. Geithner was
head of the New York Fed for several years. And the New York Fed was the group
that was in charge of the Wall Street and the major commercial banks. He sat
there and saw all these things happening; he is part of the problem. It is astonishing to me that Mr. Obama run on
a platform of change, and he’s brought in people who caused the problem, and
they are now supposed to solve the problem.
G.N. What
about the companies that are vital to the economic structure, the
infrastructure of countries like the
J.R. What do
you mean they are vital, too big to allow them to fail? There is no such thing as too big to fail.
There are plenty of banks in Australia, in Americas, in other places, who’ve
been doing what they were supposed to, minding their own manners, not going
into crazy things, waiting for these moments to come so that they could come in
and expand market share and grow and prosper. Now these people are being held
back by all these, “banks that are too big to fail”, because governments are
giving them free money and saying, now you compete with competent people. I mean, George, this is horrible economics,
and it is outrageous morality; not that politicians care about morality.
G.N. Jim, why
shouldn’t we see you as yet another doomsayer?
J.R. Well…, doomsayer, I am very optimistic about
a lot of facts …
G.N. Make me
feel better, Jim, because you are painting a pretty bleak picture.
J.R. Listen,
we have to face reality, George. If you
do not face reality and sit there and twiddle along and believe Mr. Bernanke
that everything is OK, you are going to hurt very, very badly. So I would urge
you to be prepared.
But some
parts of the world economics are going to boom.
George you should become a farmer. Agriculture is about to become the
most exciting industry in the world for the next twenty, thirty years. There
are plenty of people in the world who are going to do extremely well in the
times that are coming up, but is not Wall Street, is not the city of
G.N. George Brown wasn’t impressed when you told
him that
J.R. Well, I
do own US dollars but I plan sometime this year to get rid of the rest of my US
dollars, and my few remaining US shares.
G.N.
Seriously? And invest where, Jim? Where
are you going to put your money?
J.R. Ah,
George, that is a brilliant question. I do not know right now, but it looks as
I will probably wind up putting a lot in real assets such as cotton, or zinc,
or gold, or oil, or whatever happens to be.
G.N. Into the
real economy, if I could say, not the unreal economy of the finance world.
J.R. Absolutely!
I am talking of real products that people use every day. You and I know what
cotton and silk and zinc are. Most other people do not have a clue what a dot
com was, or a CDO was, and yet billions of dollars are put into it. That all is
going to change. Those days are over.
The financial community is going to be very, very bad place to be for
the next 20, 30 years.
G.N. Are we
looking at not the great depression, but the even greater depression?
J.R. If you
ask me, yes, we are going to have another depression in the
G.N. You
don’t blame, like so many people, the bankers and the hedge market players like
yourself? They are not to blame, it’s
the politicians.
J.R. It’s mainly Central Banks more than anybody
else. If you are going to have one
single cause, is the Central Bank in the
Had he left
the marker work, had he let people fail over the past fifteen years, Lehman
Brothers would still be in business, you know, Bear Sterns would still be in
business.
G.N. Jim,
let’s finish on this note. Here in
J.R.
Australia is one of the countries that is going to come out of this in good
shape, because you have a lot of natural resources. I said before, the people
who are going to inherit the earth are going to be the people who produce real
goods such as
G.N. You seem
to be saying this country is kidding itself if we still regard ourselves lucky
country.
J.R. Well,
G.N. Jim, is
good talking to you. I hope next time we talk, things are looking a little
brighter. I hope that your optimism for the long term future we’ll see a little
earlier maybe.
J.R. George,
go become a farmer.
G.N. Ah, ha,
ha, ha! I’ll think long and hard about that, Jim. It sounds like that is a good advise. Thanks
for your time.
J.R. Thank
you.
G.N. Thank
you. Jim Rogers. And what a pity we
couldn’t get him to tell us what he really feels.” (Jim Rogers, Dateline, SBS,
TV,
Now what of
the future? Well, we who believe God and
His Word know that the real reasons for the world’s problems are not physical
but spiritual. Humanity has turned its
back on God, and He Has turned His back on it.
The common refrain
in the religious world is that God never makes people suffer no matter what
they do; that Satan is the author of pain and suffering. Well, the Scriptures tell us a completely
different story.
Amo 3:6 If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the
people be afraid? If there is calamity in a city, will not the LORD have done it?
Amo 3:7 Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, Unless He
reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.
If a calamity in a city comes from the
Lord, how much more a worldwide calamity?
And if it is from the Lord, where are the prophets to whom the Lord has
revealed these things in order to tell the world about it. And why tell the world about it? This is why.
For two decades, we have faced the world
opprobrium for being “prophets of doom”.
Now, we not only have to confront a secular world that long ago has
turned its back God, but a chorus of religious leaders who are desperately
trying to negate our warnings that humanity is facing its nadir. They just don’t want to hear of an end to
this world, and so they deny that these calamities come from the Lord, or that
the current world tribulations have anything to do with the end of this age.
One day the world will know who has told
it the truth, and who has deceived it.
People find it impossible to believe that the whole world has fallen
into the hands of deceivers, and yet this is what God is telling us in His
Scriptures.
Co 4:3 But even if our gospel is
veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,
lest
the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should
shine on them.
and
ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake.
Amen!
********************
Pro 28:20 A faithful man will abound with
blessings,
But
he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.
Pro
28:22 A man with an evil eye hastens
after riches,
And
does not consider that poverty will come upon him.
Astonishing New Catholic Counter-Reformation
Some people
in the Protestant movement never tire criticizing the hierarchy of the Catholic
Church. Not us! We like to give credit to whom credit is due. We believe this is the case with Cardinal
Pell, the head of the Catholic Church in
What we have
heard from him lately, led us to believe that he deserves our unreserved
praise. He made statements that we
thought we would never hear from a Catholic leader. This in part is what he said.
“Nations built on values” “We are now in the worst financial crisis
since the Great Depression, which will certainly get worse before it
improves. The trouble began in the
The
President
Obama pinpointed greed and irresponsibility as major meltdown causes.
Dishonesty is another cause. All three
destroy social capital.” (The Sunday Telegraph,
No
one could fault him on his assessment of the economic meltdown. However, we are particularly encouraged by
his condemnation of the vices mentioned by President Obama – greed and
irresponsibility – and especially the one he added – dishonesty.
He
assures us that “all three destroy social capital”.
Well,
we don’t quite know what he means by “social capital”, but what we do know is
that these destroy more than that, they destroy souls, characters, and any
chance of salvation.
Another
statement from him must have shocked many people in the Catholic Church, for
they imply a transformation in the Church of a magnitude never seen
before. Here are his words again.
“I accept the 10 Commandments, believe in moral
principles, accept that there are inviolable human rights and believe that a
Christian is not free to reject these. Moral development will be twisted or
destroyed if children are encouraged to make up their own minds about what is
right or wrong. They should be taught to follow moral truths.
Nobody consistently
accepts the primacy of conscience in every area. No one says about a terrorist
or rapist that these actions are OK because they were following their
conscience. More important issues are at stake. We all should strive for consistency. MOST of us try to do the
right thing most of the time. But being
honest we also know that we get things wrong. I don’t think it is very helpful to tell a
person it is enough to follow his conscience. Of course, this is no defence in
a court of law, when the judge would say, for example, that we should have
known that we cannot drink more than the limit for alcohol and then drive a
car. We understand the judge won’t be much impressed when we claim that we can
“hold” our alcohol, that “my reflexes aren’t affected by a few beers”.
Neither am I sure how often God will be impressed by the
excuse that “I followed my conscience”, when I refused to obey one of the
commandments,
or denied someone’s human rights.
There is no doubt we
could have come to this wrong conclusion in complete innocence, but there are
other possibilities. Years of bad habits might have blinded us to the truth on
a particular issue such as adultery, or stealing. Sometimes, Catholics have an unusual way of
talking. A few suggest that you can
disagree with fundamental Christian teachings on faith and morals and still be
as good a Catholic as the Pope, as long as you are “honestly following your
conscience”. You can perform abortions,
or practise mercy killings on the aged or the sick, have sex before marriage or
even commit adultery and still be in good standing with God and the Church,
because each act followed a decision of conscience.
For years, I have argued
that this line of reasoning is wrong, that there is no “primacy” of conscience,
because the particular judgment of any individual cannot have the last word.
Sometimes, the equally conscientious decisions of other people will be contrary
to that judgment. In these cases, as always, we appeal to the truth, to what God would want us to do. Truth has the
primacy; that is why we believe in human rights and God will be the final
judge. Christians are not free to reject
the commandments or the beatitudes. The Church, like the state, has to set
down limits.” (The Sunday Telegraph,
A Catholic
leader “accepting” the Ten Commandments after millennia of persecution by the
Church of those who kept the Commandments, even to the point of burning them at
stake? Strange things are happening
these days.
To assure us
that he is serious about it, he qualified his statement with such appellatives
as, “consistency”, “being honest”, “truth”, “truth has primacy”
and “we appeal to truth, what
God would want us to do”.
Now that is
wonderful. Nothing pleases a Christian
more than to hear, “We appeal to truth, what God would want us to do”. This is why we grant him our unreserved
praise.
For more than
a millennium, making such statements from the pulpit of a Roman Catholic Church
would have sent one to the gallows, but not any more, because this Church is
now totally given over to truth.
Clearly, the leaders of this Church have seen the light and decided to
come clean before God, just in time for the return of Jesus Christ.
Now
let us consider what keeping the Ten Commandments will mean for this
Church. We assume that “accepting the 10
Commandments” also means keeping them.
First we present them in their entirety, as God gave them to Moses, and
then we will see how each one will transform the Church.
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.
Exo 20:4
"You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of
anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth
beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
Exo 20:5
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 upon 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.
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.
Exo 20:8
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9
Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
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.
Exo
Exo
Exo
Exo
Exo
Exo
Here
now is the analysis of each Commandment individually.
-
The First Commandment: "You shall have no other gods before
Me.”
The
Church will have a hard time getting used to this one. It could no longer think of its leader as
God, or refer to him as Holy Father.
That title belongs to God the Father, and to Him alone. It is found only once in the Bible, in a
context that makes it clear that use by any other person would be
blasphemy.
Joh
It is the ultimate
hypocrisy, vanity and blasphemy to assume God’s title of Holy Father.
Few people realise
that by addressing a man by that title, they themselves commit blasphemy. Not only that, but Jesus Christ told His
disciples not to call anyone on earth Father, for God in heaven is their
Father.
Mat 23:9 Do not call anyone on earth your father; for
One is your Father, He who is in heaven.
And what do Catholic
priests call themselves? Fathers! But not anymore! We are yet to see what new title they will
acquire for themselves this time.
-
The Second Commandment:
"You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of
anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth
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 upon the children to the third and fourth generations
of those who hate Me,
Anyone
who has seen Catholic Churches would know that they are adorned with countless
images of things in heaven and on earth.
People wonder why God does not answer their prayers. This might give them the answer.
Three
clear statements that images and statues, or icons as they call them, are not
accepted as objects of worship. “Those
who make them are like them; So is everyone who trusts in them”. And there are many more statements like these
in the Bible.
Much
labour will be needed to remove the idols from all the Catholic Churches in the
world. This could have a beneficial
effect on the unemployment of many nations.
Catholic
Churches, will have a completely new look.
Here is an idea: why not go for geometrical designs, like those in the
Muslim world. We may not like aspects of
their religion, but we cannot deny the exquisite designs of their
buildings. And if I may say so, some of
their music is nothing short of divine either.
It is wrong to assume that God loves only the syrupy type music usually
used in traditional churches, or the throbbing, thumping, numbing music used in
charismatic and evangelical churches.
- The
Third Commandment: “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in
vain”
One
cannot think of a more blatant taking in vain of God’s name than apportioning
His title of Holy Father. As we dealt
with this under the First Commandment, we will leave it at that.
-
The Fourth Commandment:
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy”.
This
Commandment will come as a thunder to the members of this Church. How do you
tell them that this is the correct day of rest and worship, when they have
worshipped God on the Day of the Sun for so long? Yet, told they must, because the Sabbath is
not only the day of rest and worship, but the day God designated as the sign
between Him and His people too.
Exo 31:13 "Speak also to the children
of
Exo 31:17 [The Sabbath] is a sign
between Me and the children of
Eze
Eze
Eze
Four
clear statements about how important to God it is the observance of His
Sabbaths. Bear in mind that in the Bible
the word “Sabbaths” also includes the correct Holy Days.
Then
we have the statement from Jesus Christ who made it clear what day He expects
to find His followers observing when He returns to this world.
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.
Who
are the elect of God for whose sake He will intervene and cut those days short
before all flesh is wiped out? Those who keep the Sabbath! Therefore, we are happy to welcome the
Catholic people among the elect of God.
-
The Fifth
Commandment: "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon
the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
Notice what Apostle
Paul said about this Commandment: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for
this is right. Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment
with a promise), so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on
the earth.” (Eph. 6:1-3).
Have you ever wandered why families are
falling apart; why there is so little love between children and parents, and
parents and children, these days? This
Commandment might give you the answer.
Only in the context of keeping all of God’s Commandments will this one
be effective too. For example, if people
do not keep the Sabbath, God does not recognise them as their people. And if He is not their God, they could never
have the Holy Spirit. And without the
Holy Spirit, there could never be love between parents and children, and
children and parents, or between anyone else for that matter, for God is love.
-
The Sixth
Commandment: "You shall not murder.”
This should no longer cause problems for the Church, for long ago it has
given up on murdering its opponents.
Occasional murders, however, still occur within the walls of the
-
The Seventh
Commandment:
"You shall not commit adultery.” In
this case, for the Catholic Church a more appropriate expression might be, “You
shall not engage in sexual misconduct”, for that would include
homosexuality. The Church will no longer
be able to move its errant priests from parish to parish so as to allow them to
abuse even more children.
Do you know why this Church does not expel its troublesome priests
except when it comes under severe public pressure? Because it has a secret doctrine according to
which its priests could never lose their salvation no matter what they do.
-
The Eighth Commandment: "You shall not steal.”
This should be the easiest of the Commandments. When you wear a cassock
and are so visible, it is not easy to engage in thievery.
-
The Ninth Commandment:
You shall not lie [paraphrased].
This will be another difficult Commandment for the Church. Over time, so
many lies have found their way into the doctrines and teachings of this Church
that getting rid of them all will not be easy.
However, truth is worth any sacrifice.
Among the first lies to be eliminated is the notion that the Church
could also be a State.
Jesus Christ told His disciples to go out and make disciples of all
nations (Mat. 28: 19), not to create a State within a State. And why not?
Because their Kingdom is not of this world!
Joh
Therefore, if the
How could a
Luk
Luk
Luk
Luk
Luk
Mar 10:23 Then Jesus looked around and
said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter
the
Mar
Mar
10:25 It is easier for a camel to go
through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the
Another lie that will bite he dust is
that Apostle Peter was the Church’s first Pope.
That claim comes from the following statement
of Jesus Christ.
Mat
Mat
Mat
Mat
Mat
Mat
Mat
16:19 And I will give you the keys of
the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
The problem
is that not only did Apostle Peter never stepped foot in
Joh
In chapters
Another lie
that this Church has to deal with is about its Holy Days. Not one of the Holy Days sanctioned by God in
the Bible is observed by this Church, and not one of the Holy Days observed by
this Church is sanctioned by God in the Bible.
Therefore,
out go Christmas, Easter, Sunday, and various Saint Days, and in come Passover,
Days of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Day of Atonement, and the Feasts of
Trumpets and Tabernacles.
Jesus Christ
was not born at Christmas, and not resurrected at Easter. Both of these Holy Days have pagan origins. Christmas was formerly called Saturnalia,
from Saturn or Satan, and celebrated the birth of Mithra, a pagan mythological
figure, and Easter celebrated the birth and resurrection of an animist pagan
goddess.
The same is
true of Sunday worship. This practice had its roots in ancient
Other lies
that need to be dealt with are:
-
That sinners could wash out their sins in a
purgatory after death;
-
That human beings have immortal souls;
-
That there is life after death;
-
That people go to heaven after death; and many
more.
- The
Tenth Commandment: “You shall not
covet your neighbor's house; you shall
not covet your
neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor
his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's."
Perhaps this
Commandment should have included children.
Given the troubles this Church has had with paedophile priests in recent
times, it is clear that they have coveted their neighbours’ children more than
their wives, oxen, or anything else.
These
then are the Commandments that this Church has vowed to keep.
This
Church has remembered that Jesus Christ said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments”
(Joh
That
is a transformation the world needs to be informed about, which is what we do
in this edition, for the whole world will benefit from it.
The
Bible is full of promises that those who are in God’s good graces benefit from
His blessings and protection. Never before has the world needed that more than
it needs now.
This
Church could never have had a timelier Counter-Reformation than at this time.
Will
there be another split in the Church because of it? Time will tell, but we
doubt it. One, because there is no time for it anymore. The signs are unmistakable that the return of
Jesus Christ is at hand. And two: because people have learned their
lesson.
For
millennia, ever since the great schism of the 11th century, which
split the Greek Orthodox Church from the Roman Catholic Church, there have been
countless attempts to reunify the two Churches but without success.
In fact, with
the passage of time, the two churches drifted even further apart. The Greek Orthodox Church became more static
and community oriented, satisfied merely to preserve its existing flock and boundaries,
while the Roman Catholic Church became more dogmatic, aggressive and
expansionary. Then came the Protestant
Reformation of the 16th century that shook the Church to its
foundations. And, once again, the Church confounded its critics by finding the
resources to regenerate itself with an equally powerful Counter-Reformation.
The next two
centuries were some of the bloodiest in the history of the world. Catholics murdered Protestants, and
Protestants murdered Catholics. Jews and
true Christians (who had gone underground when the Roman Church imposed its
pagan beliefs upon the Empire in the fourth century) often found themselves in
the middle, and butchered by both.
The American
and French Revolutions loosened the shackles of intolerance and rigidity of the
Church, forcing it to retreat in the face of the advancing ideas of
enlightenment and democracy. These
created conditions for the resurfacing of the long persecuted little flock of
Jesus Christ who formed the true
Let us have a
look at it.
Apostle Paul
was chastening the
It is
impossible to have a decent rational discussion with members of fundamentalist
churches such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists, Brethren,
Baptists, or the new charismatic and evangelical Churches. Their beliefs and practices are hardly different
from those of the early Roman Church, which forced underground the true
The great
surprise now is that the Church that for millennia had persecuted and
eliminated those who kept the Commandments of God, has changed its mind and is
now advocating keeping those Commandments.
This
Counter-Reformation is far greater than the one the Church experienced in the
sixteenth century, for it changes the character of the Church completely.
An unkind person may well say, we have not seen any such changes in the
Church since that statement was made three years ago. But that would mean to forget that this is a
worldwide institution, whose wheels of change can only move slowly.
Besides, we have the words of
Cardinal Pell, and he is an honourable man who does not speak with a forked tongue. He would not tell us fibs.
***************
Let not the mighty man
glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;
That I am the
LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For
in these I delight," says the LORD.
A cold
shower on
Earlier
this year, we received an email from a well wisher who informed us about the
appearance of a book on the creation/evolution controversy, entitled Thousands … Not Billions
(Master Books, 2005), which concluded that there is now ample
evidence which proves a young age for the earth and the universe. We had a look
at this book, and were so impressed that we decided to reproduce its concluding
chapter. We hold our comments for later.
“A BEGINNING”
“This
book surveys eight years of radioisotope research by the team of RATE
scientists. Since each member maintains a professional career, participation in
the RATE project required an extra commitment of time. The effort included many
hours of laboratory work, travel, data analysis, discussion, and writing. It
also required a large financial investment and sincere appreciation is
expressed to each donor. The title of
this final chapter does not imply that our research on radioisotope dating and
the age of the earth has concluded. Instead, it has just began. Several new
areas for scientific exploration were identified during the project. RATE
scientists and colleagues will actively continue the evaluation of current
radioisotope dating techniques. As is
the general care in science, there is a need for additional research on nearly
every topic in this book. On the positive side, the RATE project has made good
progress in challenging evolution’s icon or assumption of deep time. The
following sections highlight the guiding principles of RATE, its major
findings, and some of the unfinished work.”
“GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF RATE”
“One
principle agreed on by all RATE members is that the earth is young, on the
order of 6,000 years old. This is not simply a working hypothesis to be tested
as to whether it is true or false. Instead, it is a basic conclusion drawn from
the biblical record of creation as written by the only One who was present, God
himself. This creation position is neither outdated nor anti-scientific. It
does not require a stifling of scientific inquiry or the rejection of any data.
Instead, the creation viewpoint presents new directions for research and data
interpretation. As just one example, the
Bible describes in detail the flood of Noah’s day, an event which completely
transformed the earth’s surface as well as human history. Flood geology on this global scale provides
unique research opportunities which simply are not recognized by the current
science establishment.
A
second guiding principle the RATE team realized from the start is that a large
amount of nuclear decay has taken place in the past. This history of
radioactive decay is amply demonstrated by accumulated daughter decay products
in close association with their parent isotopes in many earth materials. There
are also vast numbers of defects caused by nuclear decay in crystalline rocks,
including radiohalos and fission tracks.
We assume that the earth was not created with an appearance of age at
this microscopic level of detail. Alongside
this principle, however, there is not the usual constraint that radioisotope
decay has always been governed by today’s measured nuclear half-life values.
Instead, RATE team concludes that there have been episodes of major
acceleration of nuclear decay in the past. This intriguing concept is directly
related to the biblical, catastrophic view of earth history.”
“RATE FINDINGS”
“Only
the major results of the RATE effort will be summarized in this section. Some
of the secondary findings, not covered here, may eventually turn out to be
important keys to our understanding of radioisotope data. All the results, both major and minor, are
included in the two technical RATE volumes. The following conclusions are
listed in no particular order, and are taken from the preceding chapters.
1. For some years there has been a growing
realization that carbon-14 atoms are found where they are not expected. With a half-life of 5,730 years, C-14 should
no longer exist within “ancient” fossils, carbonate rocks, or coal. Yet small
quantities of C-14 are indeed found in such samples on a worldwide scale. The
RATE work extends this information with carbon-14 measurements in additional
coal samples and also in diamonds. The RATE carbon-14 experiments on diamonds
are the first ever reported in the literature.
Measurable levels of C-14 are found in every case for both coal and
diamond samples. This evidence supports a limited age for the earth. There is a
widely held misconception that carbon-14 dating is in direct conflict with
creation and the young-earth view. Instead, however, the carbon-14 findings
strongly support a recent supernatural creation.
2. Zircons play a prominent part in the
RATE studies. These are tiny crystals which often occur in granite, one of
the most abundant rock types on earth. Within their crystal structures, many
zircons hold helium atoms which can result from the decay of internal uranium
atoms. Zircons brought to the surface from deep underground are assumed to be
ancient. The
3. Radiohalos are tiny spherical defects in
rocks. They result from the decay of clusters of radioactive atoms,
mainly uranium and polonium. The frequent occurrence of these halos in rocks is
evidence for widespread nuclear decay. Halos are present in abundance in
granites whose formation accompanied the Genesis flood. This indicates that a
large-scale acceleration of nuclear decay occurred during the year-long Flood
event.
There
is a long standing mystery concerning radiohalos. Many of them appear to have
formed during the decay of short-lived polonium radioisotopes. Those transient isotopes must in turn be
supplied by the decay of other isotopes with much longer half-lives. However,
evidence for the long-life parents often is missing. These halo-forming
isotopes include the polonium isotopes 210, 214, and 218. To explore this
mystery and other questions, many thousands of radiohalos were measured in
rocks worldwide. This was perhaps one of the largest-scale radiohalos studies
ever undertaken.
The
RATE research suggests that the polonium isotopes are derived from uranium via
accelerated decay. The polonium atoms then were rapidly removed and transported
away from their uranium sources by underground hydrothermal fluids. The
polonium atoms accumulated at new sites and formed secondary radiohalos near
their uranium parents halos. Thus, the short-lived isotopes are not parentless
after all, but instead were physically removed from their point of origin.
4. Many rock units worldwide were analyzed
by radioisotope dating techniques. These experiments include the
parent-daughter isotopes potassium-argon, rubidium-strontium,
samarium-neodymium, and also the lead-lead method. The efforts gave fresh data
on apparent ages and their consistency. Some examples of concordance, or
agreement in age were found, while many other examples showed discordance, or
disagreement. In fact, both extremes
often occurred for the same rock unit.
Great
trust is traditionally placed in the results from isochron plots. These are
graphs which are thought to give valid information on initial conditions,
possible sample contamination, and sample age.
The RATE results raise serious cautions concerning the interpretation of
isochrons. Even when an isochron plot of data appears to produce a straight
line with excellent statistical support, the calculated sample age is often in
conflict with other results. The conclusion is that no isochron age can be
trusted with confidence.
5. There are three important assumptions
made in radioisotope dating. Each has been addressed by RATE
research and found to be subject to failure. The first assumption is that the
initial condition of rock samples can be determined accurately. This is
challenged by the many discordant isochron dates. Also, ancient dates are often
obtained for volcanic rocks known to be very recent in origin. The second
assumption is that the open or closed nature of rock samples can be determined
and quantified. However, there are frequent indications of the mixing of mantle
and crystal isotopes with rock samples. Also, polonium radiohalos show the
movement of isotopes through rocks and minerals by hydrothermal transport. The
third assumption is that nuclear half-lives have remained constant throughout
history. This assumption is countered by the unexpected helium found in
“ancient” zircons. Also, there are abundant radiohalos and fission tracks which
were rapidly deposited during the Flood.
6. The concept of accelerated decay arises
many times in RATE work. It is the logical inference of placing
millions or billions of year’s worth of nuclear decay, at present rates, into a
short time frame. The episodes of increased nuclear activity appear to have
occurred during the creation week and also during the flood of Noah’s day. The evidence for vast amounts of decay
include the abundance of nuclear decay products, high concentrations of helium
atoms residing in zircon crystals, radiohalos, and fission tracks. Theoretical RATE studies suggest several
possible ways by which nuclear decay could have been accelerated. Of special
interest are large changes in decay rates that can result from a temporary
adjustment of various physical constants and parameters. The ideas are rather
complex, and involve nuclear forces, higher dimensions, and string theory. This
theoretical RATE work provides possible mechanisms for accelerated nuclear
decay.
7. The RATE radioisotope dating
measurements also contribute information regarding accelerated nuclear decay. These measurements reveal two distinct trends.
First, the isotopes which decay by alpha particle tend to give older dates than
isotopes which undergo beta decay. Second, heavier isotopes tend to give older
dates than lighter isotopes. Neither of these trends should exist if the
radioisotopes have had constant half-lives and accurately measure the ages of
rocks. This decay information may provide useful clues to understanding the
mechanisms responsible for accelerated nuclear decay.
8.
The linguistic studies of
“CHALENGES FOR THE FUTURE”
“Skeptics
of the RATE project might prefer to call this “the section of unsolved
problems.” It is certainly true that the
RATE effort does not answer every question nor solve every problem encountered.
Of course, this was never the intent of the scientists involved. The following
are some of the areas which await further work, in no particular order of
priority.
1. Accelerated nuclear decay involves
millions or billions of years worth of decay occurring in just days or months
of time. Even at present rates, considerable heat is produced by
radioactive nuclear decay. An acceleration of the process will multiply the
heat output greatly. This heat, which is produced within rocks, must be
removed, or it could melt or even vaporize the earth’s crust. This clearly did
not happen to the earth. In fact, the existence of zircons within helium,
radiohalos, and fission tracks shows that the host rocks and minerals have not
experienced excessive heating. These physical records of nuclear decay would
rapidly disappear if temperatures increased to hundreds of degrees. Possible
mechanisms have been explored that could safeguard the earth from severe
overheating during accelerated decay events. One of these involves cosmological
or volume cooling, the result of a rapid expansion of space. Many details
remain to be filled in for this and other proposed processes of heat removal.
2. The acceleration of nuclear decay gives
rise to some basic unanswered questions. Why did it occur and what was the
mechanism? Exactly when did the decay
rates increase? Each of these questions
has both scientific and theological components.
There is also a serious concern for the protection of plant, animal, and
human life from increased nuclear radiation during the Genesis flood event.
Further insight is needed on these issues.
3. The RATE project has been limited in its
scope to earth materials. However, radioisotope studies of lunar and
meteorites also yield ancient radioisotope ages. The youngest known lunar
meteorite, found in
4. The RATE age studies of various rock
formations should be expanded to additional samples and geological sites. For example, the helium retention in zircons
has been explored mainly at one location, the deep borehole in
Other
specific areas of new data collection and analysis would be especially helpful.
Consider, for example, the trends of nuclear decay whereby alpha decay isotopes
appear to give older ages than the beta decay isotopes. Also, the heavier
isotopes tend to give the oldest ages for samples. These are significant
results which need further verification. There are several other radioisotopes,
not explored by the RATE team, which could reinforce these trends.
Lutetium-hafnium and rhenium-osmium isotopes, listed in Table 2-1, are both
beta emitters. Many of their isochron dating results are already available in
the literature and await analysis from the young-earth creation
perspective.
5. Chapter 9 mentioned the possibility that
potassium-40 might have been lacking in pre-Flood forms of life including
people. The reason is to avoid a
lethal dose of internal radiation during accelerated decay events. It should be
possible to investigate this idea. There are fossil organisms available whose
basic makeup has been preserved without the loss their internal chemical
elements. For example, ants, beetles, caddis flies, feathers, and plant
fragments are found trapped and sealed in amber. Amber is hardened resin or sap
which was secreted by pine trees in the distant past. Some of these fossils may date from pre-Flood
or early post-Flood times. Samples of these entombed fossils could be analyzed
for their potassium-40 content if technical difficulties of such analyses could
be overcome. The results would show whether historic, organic potassium-40
levels were lower than the amounts present in organisms living today.
6. Additional potential radioisotope
research involves what are called extinct isotopes. There
are dozens of stable daughter products found in nature that are derived from
radioactive parents which no longer exist in significant amounts. These “orphan” daughter isotopes are found
across the earth and also in space. One particular daughter product,
magnesium-26, is detected in the light spectra of stars. It is thought to
result from the decay of aluminium-26, an extinct isotope with a half-life of
about 720,000 years. Other half-lives of extinct isotopes range from thousands
to millions of years. The study of these
extinct isotopes could provide additional information on the mechanisms of
accelerated decay.”
“THE IMPACT OF RATE”
“The
RATE results provide support for a young-earth paradigm or model for earth
history. Many creation scientists in past decades laid the foundation that the
RATE team has further refined and developed. Some of this new work has been
presented at professional meetings of the American Geophysical Union and the
Geological Society of America. This
summary book is accompanied by two technical publications and also a video
production, all designed to communicate the RATE research results to a diverse
audience. Other RATE public presentations and writings are underway. The RATE
team does not anticipate that the young-earth creation model will overtake
evolution and its broadly accepted icon of deep time in the near future. However,
we are encouraged by wide popular interest in the biblical young-earth view.
The
case can be made that all scientific research is actually creation research.
After all, any exploration of nature is an inquiry into the details of the
present-day creation. It is the interpretation of data which sometimes goes
astray and conflicts with the biblical world view. It is our hope that this
summary of the RATE project provides some needed balance in promoting the
creation view of origins. We also hope the work will serve three major
purposes. The first purpose of the RATE effort is to provide a reasoned
courteous challenge to skeptics of young-earth creation. If the earth is much
younger than usually assumed, then there are many profound implications to consider.
The second purpose is to encourage the millions of advocates worldwide who hold
to a recent supernatural creation. Young-earth creation is neither outdated nor
in opposition to science. Instead, it is a refreshing alternative to modern
evolutionary assumptions The third major purpose of RATE concerns the many
students who have an intense interest in the creation world view. This includes
all levels of study from elementary through post-graduate programs and beyond.
In future years, some of you will greatly advance creation research. It is our
hope that the RATE project will inspire your generation to advance this
exciting work to new levels of scholarship and discovery.” (The author, Don De
Young, is a member of ICR’s RATE team of scientists. He is a physics professor
at
Now Our Comments:
This
book was first published in 2005. Now given the seriousness of the subject and
the competent and scientific way in which it is treated, it should have made
waves around the world, but it hasn’t. If it weren’t for alternative publishing
houses, which cater to a limited audience, we may never have heard of it.
The
reason publications like this are kept out of the mainstream media is that the
evolution/creation controversy has long since passed from the domain of science
into that of religion. The public has
been hoodwinked into believing that evolution means science and creation means
religion. Far from it, the truth is the exact opposite. There is now ample
evidence that evolution is religion, and a satanic one at that, while creation
is reason and true science. If this were not the case, evolutionists would not
be hell bent against any notion of a young earth. Or against any notion of design in nature,
They foam at the mouth when God comes into the picture and trample under foot
or under the carpet any proof that goes against their evolutionary belief.
We have
no illusion that the mainstream academic world will take much note of this book
any more than it has done so with previous publications on this topic. They
know that other forces are at work than the simple equation of long age versus
young age for the earth and the universe. Those forces, which are holding the
academic world in their grip, make sure that books on creation science never
get their deserved publicity and recognition.
It is
rare to find a scientist who is also an academic who believes in the biblical
account of creation, and much less so if he tries to prove in a scientific way
that the earth is of a young age. This
is why the RATE group of scientists have our respect and admiration.
Four
years should have been long enough for a publication like this to have come to
the attention of mainstream academia, and yet what do we have this year? A
never ending chain of noxious eulogies on the occasion of
Jesus
Christ said that by the time of the end there would be so much deception in the
world that, if possible, even the elect of God would be deceived. Well, that
deception does not come from religious pulpits only, but from academic lecterns
of the “wise” of this world too. If
there was any reason in the past to believe in
We
advise anyone who may have doubts in regard to the truth of this matter to look
at our previous articles on this topic also in The Christian Heralds
The book
“Thousands … Not Billions” demolishes the notion that the earth and the
universe are billions of years old. It
does so not from a theological point of view, which academia has foolishly
discarded long ago, but after meticulous scientific research and data analysis. Without long ages, evolution crumbles into
nothingness.
This
group of brave scientists have had the courage to confront the mainstream
scientific world with irrefutable proofs that radioisotopes decay, used to date
inorganic matter, and corbon-14 decay, used to date organic matter, are
unreliable, giving contradictory readings under different circumstances.
These
serious scientists, who hold positions in respected tertiary institutions,
present their findings in a balanced, non-confrontational, non-judgmental
manner. Well, we don’t have to be non-judgmental about their findings, for we
look at this matter from a theological/Christian point of view. As such we have a duty before God and before
our Lord and Saviour to call a spade, spade, and warn humanity that evolution
represents a cataclysmic danger for the world.
Yes,
there is a wicked spirit, a prince of the power of the air, who works in the
sons of disobedience, by perpetrating a lie that destroys those who are caught
by it.
***************************
Theological Proofs of a Young Earth,
and of the Return of Jesus Christ
If the world
is billions of years old, as evolutionists would have us believe, biblical
prophecies are of no value, and Jesus Christ will never return to this earth,
for His return firmly depends upon a young earth.
In a godless world, prophecies serve no purpose. Those who claim to understand the mysteries
and prophecies of God are laughed at and marginalised. In such a world, it is easy to present God’s
messages as mere ramblings of psychotic men. This is why the world is oblivious
to prophecies that speak of catastrophic changes to the world, and place the
return of Jesus Christ at a specific time in history, which happens to be our
time.
Faith and
belief in God have all but disappeared from the world, yet few people stop to
ask themselves whether the current world tribulations may have something to do
with it.
Taking
a position that is contrary to God is a matter of
pride and honour for the “wise” of this world, for which they are also greatly
honoured. Churches have had a role to
pay in this charade too, the most telling example being that of Darwin, the
scourge of the world, who has been buried in a place of honour, alongside great
believers and luminaries of the Church.
They might have buried the Devil himself in that place if they
could. But then, isn’t this what one would expect from
people who do not have the Holy Spirit, who have no idea what He could do for
them? The Holy Spirit does not come to
people who blaspheme and dishonour Him.
In the Bible, God identifies Himself with the Holy Spirit, so those who
deny Him and His creation, who take His name in vain and honour idols, will
never be forgiven and granted immortality in His eternal Kingdom.
It
is not for nothing that Jesus Christ said: when the blind are leading the blind
they both end up in a ditch. The problem is that through their sheer number, the ungodly have
come to dominate the world. They
have ignored God’s messages,
twisted history to fit their view of the world, and portrayed evolution as true
science and religion as mere “opium of the masses”. As a result, the fate
of the whole world is in balance right now.
The big events – the
Flood of Noah, the Exodus of Israel, the giving of the Ten Commandments, the
life, sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ – have become non-events. In such a world, it was easy to twist the
Gospel of Jesus Christ too, and the purpose for which God placed humanity on
this planet. Creation itself is
presented as a capricious act of God, a happenstance that went awry from the
very beginning. Truth, of course, is
very different. Creation was done for a purpose and planned long in
advance. That purpose became clear in
the New Testament when the Holy Spirit became available to those with an
inquiring mind and a thirst for truth.
The enemies of God,
however, were not interested in the truth.
They had “proof” that the earth was much older than biblical chronology
made it. No matter how many proofs one
could bring to the contrary, they always fell back on to the same argument: the
dating methods. Radioisotope dating of
inorganic matter told them that the earth was billions of years old, and Carbon
14 dating of organic matter that humanity is many thousands of years older than
Genesis made it. Being an atheist
became the trademark of the enlightenment.
They do not know that atheism is as old as humanity itself.
Fools do not need
science to deny God; atheism has been in their hearts from the very
beginning. Therefore, it is not science
that has done away with God, but men’s hearts – carnal nature that is hostile
to God.
Far from being the age
of enlightenment, this is the darkest spiritual age the world has ever
seen. God, however, has not let those
who sought His truth to stumble in the darkness, for He had always revealed
Himself to those who diligently sought Him.
For the first
time in modern history, we now have a correlation between true science and
Bible chronology regarding the age of the earth. The book, Thousands
… Not Billions, (Master Books,
2005) discussed elsewhere in this edition, provides conclusive evidence that
traditional dating methods have been wrong, that a correct reading of
scientific data gives the earth the same age as biblical chronology.
Without
deep ages, evolution has nothing to stand on.
However, we have no illusion that this will change the minds of those
who are beholden to evolutionary thinking.
This is their world, and God has given them the privilege to do what
they want. They will reap their reward
in due time.
If
truth were their guiding principle, they would have seen the light long ago,
for there are many books on the market which have looked at the world from
different perspectives and come to the one and only logical and safe conclusion
that the world is neither very old, nor could it have come into existence by
itself.
Fulfilled
prophecy is the greatest proof of God.
If major world events have taken place as predicted thousands of years
in advance, no one can deny God and His hand in world history.
Prophecies
about the captivity of
We will prove
to you that just as His first arrival occurred at the exact prophesied time, so
also will His glorious return to this earth.
We begin with one of Apostle Peter’s sermons. Some of the Bible quotes are long; however,
we ask you to bear with us and read them carefully for they provide valuable
lessons and often touch on other prophecies as well.
Act 3:1 And on the same day Peter
and John went up into the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
Act
3:2 And a certain man, who was lame from
his mother's womb, was being carried. And they laid him daily at that temple
gate which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered into the
temple.
Act
3:3 Seeing Peter and John about to go
into the temple, he asked to receive alms.
Act
3:4 And fastening his eyes on him, Peter
with John said, Look on us!
Act
3:5 And he paid heed to them, expecting
to receive something from them.
Act
3:6 But Peter said, Silver and gold have
I none, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
rise up and walk!
Act
3:7 And taking him by the right hand, he
lifted him up. And immediately his feet and ankle-bones received
strength.
Act
3:8 And leaping up, he stood and walked
and entered with them into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God.
Act
3:9 And all the people saw him walking
and praising God.
Act
Act
Act
Act
3:13 The God of Abraham and of Isaac and
of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His son Jesus, whom you
delivered up, denying Him in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to let
Him go.
Act
Act
Act
Act
Act
Act
Act
Act
Act
Act
Act
Act
Act
A number of
points come out of this passage, among which are:
·
Great faith comes to those who believe in Jesus
Christ.
·
God had shown by the mouth of all His prophets that Christ should
suffer.
·
The Heaven will receive Him until the time of restoration.
·
“Every soul who will not hear this Prophet shall be destroyed from among
the people."
When Jesus
Christ returns to this earth, those who did not believe in Him will have no
reason for further existence. They will
simply be wiped out from the face of the earth.
This is one reason for the Great Tribulation, besides cleansing the
earth of its physical, moral and spiritual pollutions. The question is when will these things take
place. If you ask a Christian, he will
most certainly quote to you this statement.
Mat 24:36 "But of that day and hour
no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.
In
so doing, they fail to take into consideration what Jesus Christ said prior to
that.
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 summer is near.
Mat
24:33 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.
We do not
need to know the day and hour of His return in order to know the general time
of His coming. Indeed, there are many
tender branches now, which indicate that His coming is imminent.
Now what does this
have to do with the age of the earth, someone may ask? It may surprise people to know this but the
Scriptures make it clear that this event will take place at a specific time in
world history, namely at the confluence between six thousands years of history
and the onset of a thousand years sabbatical kingdom, more commonly known as
the Millennium Kingdom.
For a long
time, we have wondered why Jesus Christ withheld the book of Revelation from
His Apostles, but not anymore. This book
speaks of the
Act 1:6 Therefore, when they had come
together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the
kingdom to
Act
1:7 And He said to them, "It is not
for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.
Act
1:8 But you shall receive power when the
Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in
Act
1:9 Now when He had spoken these things,
while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their
sight.
Act
Act
They were to receive
power through the Holy Spirit to be His witnesses in
With the passage of
time, however, that Gospel would not only cease from being taken to the world,
but be twisted beyond recognition and disappear from the world altogether. This is why, after receiving the Holy Spirit,
Apostle Peter understood that before Jesus Christ returns to this earth, there
would be a need for the restoration of that Gospel.
Act
Act
Act
Act
Before they received
the Holy Spirit, the disciples of Jesus Christ believed, like the Pharisees of
their time, that Messiah would come to restore the glorious
Joh
Joh
Joh
Joh
Joh
Joh
Joh
Joh
“My Kingdom is not of
this world”. Now if the Kingdom of Jesus
Christ is not of this world, why is He coming back to this earth? Fundamentalist Christians never tire
preaching that Jesus Christ returns to set up the
Mainstream Christians
preach that people’s judgment takes place immediately after death, therefore
there is no need for Jesus Christ to return to the earth. However, the judgment
does not take place after death, but after resurrection, and that is why Jesus
Christ needs to return to this earth.
Earlier
in His ministry, His disciples asked Him a question which linked His return
with the end of this age.
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
rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must
come to pass, but the end is not yet.
. .
Jesus Christ
acknowledged that there is an end to this age, and went on to list the signs
that would precede His return. He told
His disciples to watch out for those signs – the buds that portend the arrival
of spring.
Now herein
lays the crux of the matter, for His return is clearly linked in the Scriptures
with a young earth.
Elsewhere in
this edition, we discuss the book, Thousands
. . . Not Billions, (Master Books, 2005), which makes a competent case that
traditional dating methods have been wrong, that a correct reading of
scientific data reveals an age of the earth of about 6,000 years, the same as
that obtained from biblical chronology.
This is what Wikipedia says on this topic.
“James Ussher (sometimes spelled Usher) (4 January
1581–21 March 1656) was Anglican
Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625–1656. He was a prolific
scholar, who most famously published a chronology that
purported to time and date creation to the night preceding 27 October 4004
BC, according to the proleptic Julian calendar.
The chronology is sometimes called the Ussher-Lightfoot
chronology because John
Lightfoot published a similar chronology in 1642–1644. This,
however, is a misnomer, as the chronology is based on Ussher's work alone and
not that of Lightfoot. Ussher deduced that the first day of creation began at nightfall preceding Sunday
October 23, 4004 BC, in the proleptic Julian calendar, near the autumnal equinox.
Lightfoot similarly deduced that Creation began at nightfall near the autumnal
equinox, but in the year 3929 BC.
Ussher's proposed date of 4004 BC differed little from other Biblically-based estimates, such as
those of Bede
(3952 BC), Ussher's near-contemporary, Scaliger (3949 BC), Johannes
Kepler (3992 BC) or Sir
Isaac Newton (c. 4000 BC) [1]. Ussher's specific choice of starting year may have been
influenced by the then-widely-held belief that the Earth's potential duration
was 6,000 years (4,000 before the birth of Christ
and 2,000 after), corresponding to the six days of Creation, on the grounds
that "one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years
as one day" (2 Peter 3:8). This view had been almost completely abandoned
by 1997. citation needed]
six thousand years after 4004 BC. Some biblical scholars, as well as a number
of evangelical Christians, declare their literal interpretation of the Bible
and a 6000-year-old Earth.[2]
Ussher was able to establish an unadjusted Creation date of about 4000
BC. He moved it back to 4004 BC to take account of an error perpetrated by Dionysius
Exiguus, the founder of the Anno
Domini numbering system. Josephus
indicated that the death of Herod
the Great occurred in 4 BC; therefore, Jesus could not have been born
after that date. Jesus was born some time between 37 BC
(when Herod came to power) and 4 BC. In the event, Ussher calculated that
Christ's birth year must have been 4 BC.
Ussher's chronology provides the following dates
for key events in the Biblical history of the world[4]:
·
4004 BC - Creation
·
2348 BC - Noah's Flood
·
1921 BC - God's call to Abraham
·
1491 BC - The Exodus
from Egypt
·
1012 BC - Founding of the Temple in Jerusalem
·
586 BC
- Destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon and the beginning of the Babylonian Captivity
“It may be an accident of history that Ussher's chronology remains so well
known while those of Scaliger and Bede, amongst others, have slipped into
obscurity. From about 1700 onwards, annotated
editions of the immensely influential King James translation
of the Bible began to include his chronology with their annotations and
cross-references. The first page of Genesis was annotated with Ussher's date of
Creation, 4004 BC, though in reality, Ussher's Annales is estimated to
have relied on the Bible for only one sixth of its volume. It was included in
the widely distributed Scofield Reference Bible. More modern
translations of the Bible usually omit the chronology, but there are still many
copies of the annotated King James in circulation.”
Years ago, before I knew anything about Usher,
Lightfoot, Bede, Scalinger, Kepler, and Newton’s calendars, I did my own
calculations and came roughly to the same conclusion. That is not all that difficult to do. First,
we have the ages of the Patriarchs before the Flood, then the ages of Noah’s
and Abraham’s descendants, and then the history of Israel to the time of Jesus
Christ. Some problems arise in relation to a few kings of Israel, the lengths
of whose reigns are not very clear due to divided monarchy, parrallel regency,
or imprecise recordings. However, these differences are few and not major, and
can be coroborated by other historical documents or archaeological
discoveries. This is why those great
biblical scholars came up with slight differences in their calculations of the
date of Creation – 4004, 3929, 3952, 3949, 3992, and 4000 B.C.
The reason these dates were abandoned by 1997 is
because many people believed Usher when he said that the end of the world would
occur after six thouand years. 1997
would have been the last year if Creation
took place in 4004 B.C. For some reason, Usher ignored the prophecies of the New Testament, in
particular the book of Revelation, which is nothing but history and prophecy.
Usher’s mistake came from his belief that Creation week comprised of
only six days. Creation was not completed in six days, but in seven. God worked
for six days and rested on the seventh. In like manner, he gave man six days to
do his work, and left the seventh day for rest and worship.
Apostle Peter’s observation that "one day is with the Lord as a
thousand years, and a thousand years as one day", means that the first six
days of Creation represent six thousand years that God gave men to do their
dirty work and discover that they could not govern themselves, while the
seventh day, the Sabbath, represents the Millennium Kingdom – a time of rest
for the earth and peace for humankind.
Usher and the biblical scholars who abandoned his chronology, failed to
take into consideration a number of prophecies that are to take place at the
confluence between the six thousand years and the Millennium Kingdom. Usher may
be forgiven for that, for he lived almost four centuries earlier, and may have
thought that such prophecies would be fulfilled by the time the earth reached
six thousand years, but that is inexcusable for modern day theologians who
should have known better.
What do these prophecies tell us?
First, that there is a delay in the return of Jesus Christ!
Mat 25:1 "Then the kingdom of heaven
shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the
bridegroom.
Mat
25:2 Now five of them were wise, and
five were foolish.
Mat 25:3 Those who were foolish took their
lamps and took no oil with them,
Mat
25:4 but the wise took oil in their
vessels with their lamps.
Mat
25:5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
Mat
25:6 "And at
Mat
25:7 Then all those virgins arose and
trimmed their lamps.
Mat
25:8 And the foolish said to the wise,
'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.'
Mat
25:9 But the wise answered, saying, 'No,
lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who
sell, and buy for yourselves.'
Mat
25:10 And while they went to buy, the
bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and
the door was shut.
Mat
25:11 "Afterward the other virgins
came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!'
Mat
25:12 But he answered and said,
'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.'
Mat
25:13 "Watch therefore, for you
know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
That could explain why the age of man did not end in 1997. The fact that ever since that time the world
has undergone tribulations after tribulation tells us that this transitional
period is full of perils for the world.
The world should consider itself lucky that God has given it extra time
to mend its ways before He unleashes the Great Tribulation which will cleanse
the earth of more than moral, physical and spiritual pollutions. The earth will swallow up those who have
abused it and blasphemed their Creator.
Unfortunately, human beings seldom learn the lessons of history and the
Scriptures. Instead of using this
extended period for good, they have sunk even deeper into a cesspool of
immorality, abominations and blasphemies.
When 1997 came and went, and the end did not come, people who had set
their heart on that date lost faith in God and in His Word. They abandoned
Usher and the other scholars, and gave up on biblical chronology. The return of
Jesus Christ became irrelevant or a mere point in a distant future. A prominent church leader once told me that
Jesus Christ could return a thousand years from now as far as he was concerned,
no one knows when. He had little
awareness of the prophecies that link His return with our time. That is a
deadly mistake, for it turns the members of those churches against the people
that pass on God’s messages and warn the world of impending catastrophe unless
they return to God in heartfelt repentance and worship. In at least two prophecies, men turn against
God’s people and kill them for daring to speak in His name. Let us look at them.
1) The work of Elijah.
What Law did God give Moses on Mount Horeb? The Ten Commandments, the
Holy Days, and a series of statutes and judgments according to which they were
to conduct their life! Failure to live by them would cause the Almighty to
strike the earth with a curse, or as some people suggest it should be
translated, utter destruction. Here is a brief quote from Deuteronomy about the
importance of God’s laws.
Deu
4:5 "Surely I have taught you
statutes and judgments, just as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should
act according to them in the land which you go to possess.
Deu
4:6 Therefore be careful to observe them;
for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the
peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, 'Surely this great nation is
a wise and understanding people.'
Deu
4:7 "For what great nation is
there that has God so near to it, as the LORD our God is to
us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him?
Deu 4:8 And what great nation is
there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all
this law which I set before you this day?
Deu
4:9 Only take heed to yourself, and
diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and
lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to
your children and your grandchildren,
Deu
4:10 especially concerning the day you
stood before the LORD your God in Horeb, when the LORD said to me, 'Gather the
people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me
all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their
children.'
Deu
Deu
Deu
4:13 So He declared to you His covenant
which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on
two tablets of stone.
Deu
Deu
Deu
Deu
Deu
Deu
4:19 And take heed, lest you lift
your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars,
all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which
the LORD your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a
heritage.
Deu
4:20 But the LORD has taken you and
brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be His people, an
inheritance, as you are this day.
Now does anyone have any doubt that what has happed in the world in
recent times are curses from God because people do not keep His Commandments,
His Holy Days, and His statutes and judgments?
Jesus Christ and His disciples had no doubt that Elijah would come
according to prophecy.
Mat
17:9 Now as they came down from the
mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one until
the Son of Man is risen from the dead."
Mat
Mat
Mat
Mat
Unlike His disciples, however, Jesus Christ knew that there would be two
Elijahs. The first was John the Baptist,
and the second would come before His return to “restore all things”.
Now do you remember what Apostle Peter said? Here it is again.
Act
Act
Act
And what are the things
that need to be restored by Elijah before Jesus’ return? The Ten Commandments, the Holy Days, the
statutes, the judgments, AND the Gospel of Jesus Christ! None of these are observed by the churches of
today. The Gospel that Jesus Christ and
His Apostles preached to the first Christians is virtually unknown in the
churches of today. And yet, Jesus Christ
made it clear that without the Commandments of God no one could be saved (Mat
19:17-23). He also told His disciples
the following:
Joh
Joh
Joh
14:17 the Spirit of truth, whom the
world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know
Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
Joh
Joh
Joh
Joh
Joh
Joh
What
do you think would happen if one went to his preacher and told him that God the
Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit dwell in him? I do not suggest you do it if you want to
remain a member of that Church.
It is not a mere coincidence that the prophecy about Elijah is being
fulfilled now, at the junction of six thousand years and the Millennium
Kingdom. Your Church leader, who
preaches a different gospel, will most likely deny that this prophecy is being
fulfilled at present. To admit that would be tantamount to acknowledging that
he is a false preacher. But then, what
did Jesus Christ say about this time?
Mat
24:11 Then many false prophets will rise
up and deceive many.
Mat 24:24 For false christs and false
prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible,
even the elect.
False preachers will never deceive the elect of God. What few people
realize is that deception does not come from the pulpit of churches only, but
from academic lecterns too, from people who teach evolution and long ages.
2)
Another prophecy that must be fulfilled at this
time is the work of the two witnesses of Revelation.
Wherever we look at the prophecies about the end of this age, people are
hostile to God and to His people.
That people who preach the truth of God are being killed, and then
resurrected, confirms that their work takes place just prior to the return of
Jesus Christ, when a wider resurrection takes place too.
The last thousand years will be completely different from the previous
six. By removing Satan from the world, humanity will have a thousand years of
peace. Then this universe will be rolled back and a new earth and new heaven be
set up which shall never have an end. This is prophesied in both the Old and
the New Testaments.
Jesus Christ could not tell His disciples when these things will take
place. They were to go out into the world and make disciples all the nations, not
wait for His return. Our mission,
however, is quite different. First, it
is to restore the Gospel of salvation which has become lost by now, and second,
to warn the world of utter destruction unless it returns to its creator God.
Conditions in the world are exactly those prophesied for this time – the
transition between six thousand years and the Millennium Kingdom.
This is the time that Jesus
Christ is scheduled to return to this world, which confirms a young age for the
earth. However, before that could occur,
certain frightening prophecies need to be fulfilled. They are frightening
because they speak of nothing less than the very destruction of this world. We
have discussed these prophecies at length in previous editions, so we are
making only a few comments, in italics, between the lines this time.
Eze
38:1 Now the word of the LORD came to
me, saying,
Eze 38:2 "Son of man, set your face
against Gog, of the
Eze
38:3 and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD:
"Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and
Tubal.
Eze
38:4 I will turn you around, put hooks
into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all
splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of
them handling swords.
Eze
38:5
Eze
38:6 Gomer and all its troops; the house
of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops—many people are
with you.
[The
geographical location “in the far north”,
identifies the nations of Gog, Rosh, Meshech, Tubal, Gomer and Togarmah as
belonging to the Russian Federation and its allies. How remarkable that Persia (Iran) Ethiopia, and
Libya should be “with them” at this
time. Bear in mind that this prophecy was given more than two and a half
millennia ago].
Eze
38:7 "Prepare yourself and be
ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard
for them.
Eze
38:8 After many days you will be
visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of
[Is it a mere coincidence that at this
precise time these nations pose an existential threat to Israel – the people “brought back from the sword”? At what other time in history could this
prophecy have been fulfilled?]
Eze
38:9 You will ascend, coming like a
storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples
with you."
Eze
38:10 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "On
that day it shall come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind,
and you will make an evil plan:
Eze
38:11 You will say, 'I will go up
against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell
safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates'—
Eze
38:12 to take plunder and to take booty,
to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again
inhabited, and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods,
who dwell in the midst of the land.
Eze
38:13
Eze
38:14 "Therefore, son of man, prophesy
and say to Gog, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "On that day when My people
Eze
38:15 Then you will come from
your place out of the far north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great
company and a mighty army.
Eze
38:16 You will come up against My people
[It is not a question of ‘if’ or’ maybe’ or
‘perhaps’, that these nations will come against Israel, but a fact guaranteed
by God. A Chinese proverb says, ‘may you
live in interesting times’. One can hardly think of more interesting times than
our own].
Eze
38:17 Thus says the Lord GOD: "Are you
he of whom I have spoken in former days by My servants the prophets of
Eze
38:18 "And it will come to pass at
the same time, when Gog comes against the
Eze
38:19 For in My jealousy and in
the fire of My wrath I have spoken: 'Surely in that day there shall be a great
earthquake in the
Eze
38:20 so that the fish of the sea, the
birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep
on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake
at My presence. The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall
fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.'
[I would not live in a high rise if I wore
in
"Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his
garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame." And they gathered
them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon. Then the seventh angel
poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of
heaven, from the throne, saying, "It is done!" And there were noises
and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as
had not occurred since men were on the earth. Now the great city
was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great
Eze
38:21 I will call for a sword against
Gog throughout all My mountains," says the Lord GOD. "Every man's
sword will be against his brother.
Eze
38:22 And I will bring him to judgment
with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on
the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones,
fire, and brimstone.
Eze
38:23 Thus I will magnify Myself and
sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they
shall know that I am the LORD." '
[God strikes those nations as much to
punish them for turning their backs on Him, as to magnify Himself in the eyes
of the world, as He was magnified when
He brought Israel out of Egypt].
Eze
39:1 "And you, son of man, prophesy
against Gog, and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I am
against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal;
Eze
39:2 and I will turn you around and lead
you on, bringing you up from the far north, and bring you against the mountains
of
Eze
39:3 Then I will knock the bow out of
your left hand, and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand.
Eze
39:4 You shall fall upon the mountains
of
Eze
39:5 You shall fall on the open field;
for I have spoken," says the Lord GOD.
Eze
39:6 "And I will send fire on Magog
and on those who live in security in the coastlands. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.
Eze
39:7 So I will make My holy name known
in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them profane My
holy name anymore. Then the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the
Holy One in
Eze
39:8 Surely it is coming, and it shall
be done," says the Lord GOD. "This is the day of which I have
spoken.
[Can you see now why we have been preaching
for years that the so-called road to peace is nothing of a kind, but rather
road to war, that there will never be a separate Palestinian State in the
Middle East? That is simply contrary to prophecy].
Eze
39:9 "Then those who dwell in the
cities of Israel will go out and set on fire and burn the weapons, both the
shields and bucklers, the bows and arrows, the javelins and spears; and they
will make fires with them for seven years.
Eze
39:10 They will not take wood from the
field nor cut down any from the forests, because they will make fires
with the weapons; and they will plunder those who plundered them, and pillage
those who pillaged them," says the Lord GOD.
Eze
39:11 "It will come to pass in that
day that I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel, the valley of
those who pass by east of the sea; and it will obstruct travelers, because
there they will bury Gog and all his multitude. Therefore they will call it
the
Eze
39:12 For seven months the house of
Eze
39:13 Indeed all the people of the land
will be burying, and they will gain renown for it on the day that I am
glorified," says the Lord GOD.
Eze
39:14 "They will set apart men
regularly employed, with the help of a search party, to pass through the land
and bury those bodies remaining on the ground, in order to cleanse it. At the
end of seven months they will make a search.
Eze
39:15 The search party will pass through
the land; and when anyone sees a man's bone, he shall set up a marker by
it, till the buriers have buried it in the
Eze
39:16 The name of the city will
also be Hamonah. Thus they shall cleanse the land." '
Eze 39:17 "And as for you, son of
man, thus says the Lord GOD, 'Speak to every sort of bird and to every beast of
the field: "Assemble yourselves and come; Gather together from all sides
to My sacrificial meal Which I am sacrificing for you, A great sacrificial meal
on the mountains of Israel, That you may eat flesh and drink blood.
Eze
39:18 You shall eat the flesh of the
mighty, Drink the blood of the princes of the earth, Of rams and lambs, Of
goats and bulls, All of them fatlings of
Eze
39:19 You shall eat fat till you are
full, And drink blood till you are drunk, At My sacrificial meal Which I am
sacrificing for you.
Eze
39:20 You shall be filled at My table
With horses and riders, With mighty men And with all the men of war," says
the Lord GOD.
Eze
39:21 "I will set My
glory among the nations; all the nations shall see My judgment which I have
executed, and My hand which I have laid on them.
Eze
39:22 So
the house of
Eze
39:23 The Gentiles shall
know that the house of
[Are the Jews still asking why the
Holocaust took place, where God was in those days, or why He allowed it to
happen? They should read their own Scriptures to find that out].
Eze
39:24 According to their uncleanness and
according to their transgressions I have dealt with them, and hidden My face
from them." '
Eze
39:25 "Therefore thus says the Lord
GOD: 'Now I will bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole
house of
Eze
39:26 after they have borne their shame,
and all their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, when they
dwelt safely in their own land and no one made them afraid.
Eze
39:27 When I have brought them back from
the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and I am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations,
Eze
39:28 then they shall know that I am
the LORD their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also
brought them back to their land, and left none of them captive any longer.
Eze
39:29 And I will not hide My face from
them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of
And if these
prophecies still do not convince you that these things will take place at the
conclusion of six thousand years, just in time for the return of Jesus Christ,
the following prophecy should.
Zec
14:1 Behold, the day of the LORD is
coming, And your spoil will be divided in your midst.
Zec
14:2 For I will gather all the nations
to battle against
Zec
14:3 Then the LORD will go forth And
fight against those nations, As He fights in the day of battle.
Zec
14:4 And in that day His feet will stand
on the
Zec
14:5 Then you shall flee through
My mountain valley, For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall
flee As you fled from the earthquake In the days of Uzziah king of
Zec
14:6 It shall come to pass in that day That
there will be no light; The lights will diminish.
Zec
14:7 It shall be one day Which is known
to the LORD Neither day nor night. But at evening time it shall happen That
it will be light.
Zec
14:8 And in that day it shall be— That
living waters shall flow from
Zec
14:9 And the LORD shall be King over all
the earth. In that day it shall be "The LORD is one," And His
name one.
Zec
Zec
Zec
Zec
Zec
Zec
Zec
14:16 And it shall come to pass that
everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go
up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the
Feast of Tabernacles.
[They will not go to Jerusalem to celebrate
Easter, Christmas, Sunday, saints days, or any of the ‘holy days’ that
‘Christians’ observe these days, but the Feast of Tabernacles, and God’s other
scriptural Holy Days].
Zec
14:17 And it shall be that
whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship
the King, the LORD of hosts, on them there will be no rain.
Zec
Zec
Zec
Zec
[God’s Word cannot be changed, and that is
why Palestinians should turn to God and Jesus Christ now, while they can still
do it, and not sacrifice their children to the god of death anymore, for God
can give them a great land in His Kingdom, not on that patch of unfortunate
land].
These then are the
prophecies that need to be fulfilled at the end of six thousand years, prior to
the onset of the
Verses