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 Monaco
last October. The statement, called
the Monaco Declaration, said increasing acidity is interfering with the growth
and health of shellfish and eating away at coral reefs, processes that would
eventually affect marine food webs generally. Already, the group said, there have been
detectable decreases in shellfish, shell weights and interference with the
growth of coral skeletons.
Jeremy Jackson, a coral expert at the Scripps Institution of
Oceanography in San Diego, said "there is just no doubt" that the
acidification of the oceans is a major problem. "Nobody really focused on
it because we were all so worried about warming," he said, "but it is
very clear that acid is a major threat."
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 Monaco, an affiliate of the
International Atomic Energy Agency, a United Nations body. According to the declaration, "ocean acidification
may render most regions chemically inhospitable to coral reefs by 2050."
The group said that acidification can be controlled only by limiting future
atmospheric levels of the gas. Other strategies, including
"fertilizing" the oceans to encourage the growth of tiny marine plants
that take up carbon dioxide might actually make the problem worse in some
regions, it said. Recommend More Articles in Science”. (Cornelia Dean,
International Herald Tribune, January
30, 2009).
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 Australia's leading
scientists who are about to head off to Denmark for an international congress
to assess the latest data on climate change.
While the politicians are still arguing over how much of a slug industry
can bear, some scientists believe the climate debate has moved to a critical
phase.
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 Copenhagen
to review the latest data on climate change. The consensus is that the climate
system has proved far more sensitive to surging carbon emissions than science
anticipated even two years ago. Sea level rises, global temperatures and
northern ice melts have all met or are projected to exceed worst
case expectations.
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 Copenhagen where they know they'll hear more bad news about the climate, they're
frustrated by an apparent lack of political urgency.
MATTHEW
ENGLAND: The rate of change and the rate of response to this problem is relatively slow compared to some of the ways that we
respond to crises such as the financial crisis or when bird flu was perceived
as a big problem a few years ago.
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,
Feb 23, 2009)
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 Vatican line, which should surprise nobody. But a scientist he
ain’t. And if he’s prepared to frame his entire being around a collection of
fantastic beliefs, all of which would get laughed out of a Year 9 science
class, he surrenders the right to be regarded as a credible player in the most
important scientific debate of our times.”
(David Penberthy, The Daily Telegraph, Feb. 25, 2009).
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 U.S. needs to show some proof they have a plan to get out of
the fiscal problem," said Ernesto Zedillo, the former Mexican president
who helped steer his country through a financial crisis in 1994. "We, as
developing countries, need to know we won't be crowded out of the capital
markets, which is already happening."
Zedillo said that Washington, unlike most other countries, had the
option of simply printing more money, because the dollar was a reserve currency
for the rest of the world. Over the
long run, that could force long-term interest rates higher and drive down the
value of the dollar, undermining the benefits that come with its
special status. Until now, most
fears about surging government debt have focused on borrowing by European
countries like Spain, Greece and especially Britain, which is also in the midst
of a sizable bank bailout. That bailout recently pushed the British pound to a
23-year low against the dollar.
While the dollar's status as refuge in a time of turmoil should prevent
that kind of sell-off for now, a number of financial specialists warned that if
fundamental factors like the lack of American savings and bloated budget
deficits did not change, the dollar could eventually fall sharply.
"There aren't that many safe havens," said Alan Blinder, a
Princeton economist who is a former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve in
Washington, explaining why the dollar's status as a reserve currency was
unlikely to be threatened.
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 Washington has been on putting together a stimulus package
that will attract broader political support when it comes up for a vote in the
Senate. But here in Davos the talk has been about the coming avalanche of
Treasury debt needed to pay for the plan, on top of the bailout measures
approved last autumn, like the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program
or TARP. The stimulus was approved
Wednesday by the House without Republican support, and could grow larger -
mostly likely with additional tax cuts - to attract a
bipartisan coalition. U.S.
officials maintain they are aware of the challenge. A top White House adviser,
Valerie Jarrett, promised in Davos on Thursday that once the stimulus plan had
achieved its intended affect, the United States would "restore fiscal
responsibility and return to a sustainable economic path."
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 Washington at this point.
"Even before Obama walked through the White House door, there were
plans for $1 trillion of new debt," said Niall Ferguson, a Harvard
University historian who has studied borrowing and its impact on
national power. He now estimates
that $2.2 trillion in new government debt will be issued this year, assuming
the stimulus plan is approved.
"You either crowd out other borrowers or you print money,"
Ferguson added. "There is no way you can have $2.2 trillion in borrowing
without influencing interest rates or inflation in the long term."
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."
Ferguson is skeptical about the Keynesian thinking behind Obama's plan -
rather than borrowing and spending to stimulate the economy, he favors
corporate tax cuts. But even supporters of the plan like Zedillo and Stephen
Roach, the chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, have called on the White House to
address quickly how it will pay for the spending in the long term. "It's huge," Roach said.
"President Obama has now laid out a scenario of multiyear,
trillion-dollar deficits."
To make matters worse, he said, the United States "is a
savings-short, deficit economy. When we decide to borrow, we're asking lenders
from around the world to step up and give us the money."
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 Mexico was forced to tighten its belt
when it received billions of dollars from Washington to keep its economy from
collapsing in 1994, was even more blunt. "People are not stupid," Zedillo
said. "They see the huge deficit, the huge spending, and wonder what
comes next." (By Nelson D.
Schwartz, International
Herald Tribune, January 30, 2009).
And here is a transcript
of a program from Australia’s SBS television network.
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 Britain finished, and
urged invertors to dump sterling. So
what does this outspoken monetary maverick thinks of all these monster stimulus
packages currently being dolled out from Washington to Canberra? I spoke with him earlier from his base in
Singapore.
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
Japan since they tried all that, stock market is down 80 per cent – eight zero
per cent – from where it was 19 years ago. This has never worked. It doesn’t matter, I
am not doing it ideologically here, I am saying this has never worked. The things that have worked are take your pain and start all over.
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 US, the UK, and even our own, they are too big to allow them
to fail.
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 London. People who’ve been driving
Lamborghini for the past ten years, are suddenly going to be driving
taxies. Maybe they will learn to drive a
tractor so that they could work for the farmers who now will have the
Lamborghinis.
G.N. George Brown wasn’t
impressed when you told him that Britain is finished and that you are pulling
out your money, you are pulling out your sterling and tell everybody else to do
the same, and it had a big impact in the UK. What are you doing with your
American dollars?
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 United States, because
the politicians keep bungling it. That’s what caused the great depression in the 1930s.
Politicians around the world made mistake after mistake after mistake, and I am
afraid is happening again including protectionism.
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 United States. We had a man, Allan Greenspan, running the
Central Bank; he refused to let anybody fail.
Every time people got into trouble, they would call up and say, save me,
save me, save me, and he would bail out everybody.
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 Australia we are on a
stimulus band wagon, for better or worse, rightly or
wrongly. What’s
your feeling about this country at the moment, because there seems to be going
down the same mini version of Barrack Obama trail?
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
Australia’s. Unfortunately, your
politicians are as bad as American politicians. They
keep spending money on projects that are just make-work projects, rather than
building for the future. Look at China and Singapore, for instance. They are
mainly spending money trying to make the country competitive down the road.
G.N. You seem to
be saying this country is kidding itself if we still regard ourselves lucky
country.
J.R. Well,
Australia has been a lucky country at times.
I am afraid, Australia is not so lucky right now, because Australian
politicians just keep on making mistakes; just like mine do.
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, March 1, 2009).
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 7:24 And when the
messengers of John had departed, He began to speak to the people concerning
John. What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed
shaken with the wind?
Luk 7:25 But what did you
go out to see? A man clothed with soft clothing?
Behold, those in splendid clothing and being in luxury are in kings' palaces.
Luk 7:26 But what did you
go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and much
more than a prophet.
Luk 7:27 This is he
of whom it is written, "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who
shall prepare Your way before You."
Luk 7:28 For I say to you, Among those who are
born of woman there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist. But he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than
he.
Mar 10:23 Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples,
"How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of
God!"
Mar 10:24 And the
disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus
answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who
trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!
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
kingdom of God."
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 16:13 When Jesus came
into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who
do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"
Mat 16:14 So they said,
"Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one
of the prophets."
Mat 16:15 He said to them, "But who do you say
that I am?"
Mat 16:16 Simon Peter
answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Mat 16:17 Jesus answered
and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood
has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
Mat 16:18 And I also say
to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the
gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
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 play 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 Jerusalem,
in Judea, in Samaria, and to the end of the world. That they did, but that would be a work of
long duration – for centuries afterwards.
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 3:18 But those things
which God before had shown by the mouth of all His prophets, that Christ
should suffer, He fulfilled in this manner.
Act 3:19 Therefore repent
and convert so that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing
shall come from the presence of the Lord.
Act 3:20 And He shall
send Jesus Christ, who before was proclaimed to you,
Act 3:21 whom Heaven truly needs to receive until the
times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of
His holy prophets since the world began.
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. This 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 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 of 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 having
only a brief look at those that are more relevant for us now.
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 Israel, or anywhere else in the
world for that matter, for a great earthquake is said to strike the whole world at this time.
"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 Babylon was remembered before
God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. Then every
island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And
great hail from heaven fell upon men, each
hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of
the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly 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
Concomitant
with the return of Jesus Christ, there will be a resurrection of one hundred
and forty-four thousand people. Who are
these people and what role will they play?
These
are the new kings and priests who will reign over the world under Jesus Christ
during the Millennium Kingdom. However, they will play the role of judges too,
just as it was in the beginning of the Kingdom of Israel when its rulers were
also its judges.
Can
you see now why the current world rulers cannot play any role in the Kingdom of
Jesus Christ? Those whom God prepares
to be kings and priests in His Kingdom are being trained through fire, so to
speak, until the law of God is firmly anchored in their hearts,
and the mind of God imprinted in their heads.
If
Jesus Christ, who had the Holy Spirit, did not consider it robbery to be equal
with God, neither should His disciples who also have the Holy Spirit and are of
one mind with Him and the Father.
That
the new kings and priests will also play the role of judges is proved by the
following Scriptures too.
Therefore,
during the thousand years Millennium Kingdom, those who are resurrected at the
return of Jesus Christ, will reign over the earth (Rev 5:10), preach the Gospel
to all nations (Rev 10:11), judge those who have lived since the beginning of
the world (1Cor 6:1,2), Rev. 14:7), and follow Christ to the throne of His
Father in heaven (Rev 14:3).
From
there, He and His new kings and priests will reign over the earth and guide the
affairs of the world in an invisible manner, in the same way that He and the
Father have been guiding the world until now.
It
is not possible for spirit beings to live side by side with human beings. That
is why those who say that Jesus Christ returns to set up the Kingdom of God
upon this earth, and live in the world as human beings do have no idea what they
are talking about.
The
In
conclusion, if the earth is billions of years old, the current world
difficulties are a mere blimp on an indefinite history of the world. Men will
reverse global warming; climate change will stabilise; draughts, floods and
other unusual phenomena will come back to normal; world economies will recover
from the current slump; and humanity will enjoy another long period of ‘peace,
progress and prosperity’.
If,
on the other hand, the earth is young, and the world follows a predetermined
course, the globe will get hotter; climate change will become unstoppable;
draughts, floods, and other natural extremes will get worse; famine and
pestilences will take plagues proportions; world economies will remain in the
doldrums; nations will become unstable and scramble for diminishing resources;
a major war will ensue; world population will be reduced to a trickle; none of
the wicked will survive; Jesus Christ will make a triumphant return; the
survivors will turn to God en masse; and a real new world order will be set up
– one of true peace, prosperity and holiness.
The
spiritually wise of this world will have no problem understanding which one is
true.
They will be
preparing for the inevitable; in a hurry.
**********************
THE CHRISTIAN
HOLY DAYS FOR THE YEARS
|
|
|
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
|
The Passover (Pesah – Nissan 14) Unlike the Jews,
who used to kill the Passover lamb “at the twilight” of Nissan 14 (meaning in
the evening towards Nissan 15), we, Christians, observe the Passover when our
“Lamb” – Jesus Christ – was sacrificed. That happened on the afternoon
of Nissan 14, before the twilight of Nissan 14, meaning that we keep it a
little earlier than the Jews. We commemorate
His death, not His supper, which occurred the previous evening, as some
churches do. The time when His body was broken, not when He broke the
symbolic bread. |
|
8
April |
29 March |
18
April |
|
Days of Unleavened
Bread (Nissan 15 – 21) On the first and seventh days there shall be
holy convocations. No work
shall be done on these days. |
|
|
30 March – 5 April |
19 – 25 April |
|
Pentecost (Shavuot – Sivan 6) |
|
29 May |
19 May |
8 June |
|
Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah – Tishri 1) |
|
19
Sept. |
9
Sept. |
29
Sept. |
|
Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur –
Tishri 10) |
|
28
Sept. |
18
Sept. |
8 Oct. |
|
Feast of Tabernacles (Succoth – Tishri 15 – 22) On the first and
the eighth days there shall be holy convocations. No
work shall be
done on these
days |
|
|
23 Sept. – 30 Sept. |
13 –
20 Oct. |
Yes, children should partake of the Lord’s Supper
Among the myriad of contentious emails we have
had to deal with, was one which purported to clarify
the question of whether children should partake of the Lord’s Supper. This is what they said:
“Should children partake of the Lord’s Supper? The Lord’s Supper is an act of remembering, a
commemorative event. Every time we take
the Lord’s Supper we remember the price Jesus Christ
paid for us on that cross. He took upon
Himself the judgment that God would have given us. He gave His body to be
destroyed (the broken bread), and for the forgiveness of our sins He poured out
His blood (the wine symbolises this fact).
At the Lord’s Supper, we meditate over what happened at
First of all, these people think that they have been ‘born again’ when every indication is that they do not have the Holy Spirit. We have reason to believe that this is a Sunday observing church, and no such church could ever have the Holy Spirit. Even many Sabbatarian churches do not have the Holy Spirit these days, let alone those who observe the Day of the Sun.
Second, the Lord’s Supper, or Passover as it should be more correctly called, is one of seven biblical Holy Days. You keep them all, or you keep none, which is what Sunday observing churches have been doing for millennia anyway.
Third, the Passover must be observed once a year at the right time, not willy-nilly every time there is a gathering for a religious service. It loses its significance if you do it that way. Since Sunday observing churches know nothing of God’s calendar – a lunar calendar, as opposed to the Roman solar calendar – it means that whatever they observe cannot be the Passover.
Fourth, the apostles made no distinction between people who were born again and those who were not born again. They merely said that people must not receive the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner. Some of those who claim to be born again are further away from God than many worldly people. Why do you think Jesus Christ said that many are called but few are chosen? The chosen come from among the called, from among those who think that they are born again.
Human beings cannot know a worthy person from an unworthy one, unless he is obviously a boisterous drunkard or sinner. Only God knows that. If they know that they are unworthy, and still partake of the Lord’s Supper, let it be upon their own head. Let them be responsible before Jesus Christ, and let not humans be judges of that.
If people want to partake of the Lord’s Supper, even strangers, they should not be prevented from doing so. The only requirement being that they observe the solemnity of the occasion. And that goes for children too.
What greater joy could parents have than to see their children quietly participate and take in the meaning of such an important memorial? I can assure you that Jesus Christ would not turn children away from commemorating His sacrifice.
In fact, I would suggest that if you have relatives, friends, or neighbours whom you think are worthy of it, who may benefit from it, and might be willing to participate in it in the appropriate manner, invite them along.
And no, there is no
washing of feet on that occasion. Those who know that they are going to have
their feet washed, scrub them thoroughly before hand, so that exercise becomes
nothing more than an exercise in futility.
Jesus Christ gave us an example that we may live by it in the real
world, not only when we commemorate His sacrifice.