IS IT A QUESTION OF SURVIVAL OR SALVATION?

Is life on this planet at a crisis point? Has humanity fallen into a mire from which it cannot escape?

There is plenty of anecdotal evidence that suggests that this is precisely the case.

Last year, scientists told us that the depletion of the ozone layer is much greater than previously thought. The ozone hole is getting bigger all the time, yet with all the talk about alternative solutions to the CFC gases the fact is that the process of destruction of the ozone layer has not even been stopped, let alone reversed.

The increase in the ultra-violet radiation has already triggered epidemics of skin cancer in humans and animals in countries closer to the poles from where the ozone hole is expanding. Tasmania, the southern most state of Australia, and parts of southern Argentina and Chile, are the first areas to be affected this way. Data from the Northern Hemisphere indicates that countries closer to the North Pole are beginning to experience the same effects. The hole over the North Pole, which was originally smaller than the one in the south, is now expanding as fast or faster than the one in the south.

In the last couple of years, there has been an unexplainable drop in rice yields in the countries of Asia. After the green revolution of the seventies and the eighties, when many countries in the region turned from importers to exporters of rice, this unexpected fall in harvests could be ominous.

Specialists in the field are at a loss to explain this phenomenon, but scientists have already told us that the thinning of the ozone layer affects the development of both animal and plant life. The plankton in the sea, upon which depend all marine life and ultimately land life as well and which maintains a balance in nature by recycling carbon dioxide emissions, a role more important than ever now after the destruction of the forests, is being damaged directly by ultraviolet radiation.

The fishing industries around the world provide one and a half billion meals every day. By the turn of the century this demand is expected to double. But fishermen are already having difficulties meeting the current demand let alone double that. A history of mismanagement and over-exploitation has led to a drastic reduction in the fishing stocks worldwide.

At a time when organic and mineral resources are declining, experts are telling us that the world population will double within a generation. More arable land will be taken out of production for human settlements, so that even less food will be produced. The apocalyptic images of starvation from Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and elsewhere are but a reminder of what will be seen on a scale that defies imagination.

The discussion about world over-population has taken a bizarre twist lately. The producers of the Far Eastern Economic Review suggested recently that those who talk about impending doom are of a "racial cast." The idea of over-population, they say, is a white man's plot designed to rule the world through population control.

How did they come to this astonishing conclusion? No one worries about too many white people, only about too many yellow or brown people, and since most of the complainants are white it follows that this is a plot designed to put the white race above the others. A new form of colonialism in other words.

The article goes on to explain why no one needs to worry about overpopulation. It takes as example Hong Kong and Singapore, two prosperous countries with shortages of labor, and compares them with China, an impoverished country but with a huge population pool. China has a density of 125 people per square kilometer, while Hong Kong and Singapore have 6948 and 4484 respectively. The conclusion, they say, is to make every country as prosperous as Hong Kong and Singapore and forget about population control schemes.

“Each additional worker means a bigger pie for all. Thus food production, to name perhaps the most obvious resource, far exceeds the growth in population. Indeed, we have reached the point where famine is almost always man-made ... whether in Stalin's Ukraine, Mengistu's Ethiopia or the Khmer Rouge's Cambodia." (The Australian, May 18, 1993).

What figures did these people use to reach their conclusions? That the famines in Ukraine, Ethiopia and Cambodia were man-made does not negate the fact that food resources are getting scarcer. In the case of China, the industrial pie is getting very large indeed - China is now reported to be the third largest economy in the world - but the agricultural pie is shrinking. A specialist at the Chinese Agriculture Ministry, Mr. Yi Yan Li, said recently that of China's 400 million peasant labourers, 160 million are surplus requirements. He described this as a "severe problem."

For several years, China's agricultural share of the GNP has been declining steadily. China Daily commented recently that the grain production will continue to drop in the coming years due to the "shrinking arable land and deflated enthusiasm among farmers” (SMH, May 13, 1993). So much about food production exceeding population growth.

The Far Eastern Economic Review ignores the fact that both Hong Kong and Singapore have no food resources of their own except some fishing industries. When other nations will stop selling them food because they won't have enough for their own people, their industrial pie will amount to nothing. People cannot eat video recorders, computers or television sets.

How many countries have a labor shortage aside from Hong Kong and Singapore? Virtually every other country in the world has a large pool of unemployed people. Unemployment has become the scourge of the modern world. The technological revolution of the last few years has had the effect of reducing, not increasing the number of people actively involved in the work force. Hong Kong and Singapore have benefited from an unusual set of favorable circumstances: proximity to large trading blocks, tourist destination, educated population, etc.

As for the statement that "each additional worker means a bigger pie for all," the Chinese leaders obviously have not heard about that one yet. For more than a decade they have been trying desperately to stabilize their population at 900 million. They even imposed fines on those that had more than one child and rewarded those who followed this policy. Today, China has 1.2 billion people and still growing.

By the turn of the century, India is expected to overtake China as the most populous country in the world. India can ill afford that when it can hardly feed its people now.

At present, China imports about ten million tons of grain every year. By the end of the century, it will need to import up to 100 million tons a year. That is about half the present world trade in grains. Where will they buy their wheat from when other countries will need to increase their purchases accordingly?

With the doubling of the world population in about thirty years time, every country will need to feed twice as many people as it feeds now. Does anyone seriously think that food production will double in that time? Then double again in less than thirty years, and keep doubling with every new generation?

It is simply impossible for food production to keep up with the population growth when the farming area must shrink in order to make room for more human settlements. Even if the "pie" is not shrinking, the slice from it will be getting smaller as more people will need to be fed from it. But the world does not need to wait thirty years to reach a crisis point. We are already familiar with famines, droughts, ecological disasters, greenhouse effect, ultraviolet radiation, social unrest, crime, drugs, unemployment, family breakdown, epidemics, etc.

Massive changes in the weather pattern have produced major disasters around the world. We have become used to describing natural disasters in superlatives terms - the worst, the biggest, the most, the longest, of everything: hurricanes, earthquakes, droughts, volcanoes, floods, famines, etc.

"A record number of tornadoes (1381 in all) touched down on US soil last year, as well as America's costliest disaster, Hurricane Andrew, which destroyed $20 billion worth of property in Florida alone. Nor is the outrageous weather limited to North America. Hailstorms the size of tennis balls last week bombarded France, a country whose precious vacation time has been marred of late by blazing springs, cool summers and snowless ski slopes.

Farmers in Western Queensland, Australia, are currently suffering the state's longest and most widespread drought. New Delhi recorded its hottest day in more than 40 years in June; Rome last week had its hottest day of this century. Torrential rains have become so severe in Hong Kong that meteorologists coined a new term - black rainstorm alert - to signal their approach.

Weather-related losses at Lloyd's of London are staggering. Says underwriter Richard Keeling: 'From what we have experienced over the past four or five years, either we have been very unlucky or things are getting worse out there...’

Why are so many records being set in so many places right now? Could it have anything to do with the holes mankind has drilled in the ozone layer? The forests it has levelled? The greenhouse gases it has pumped into the atmosphere? No reputable scientist will say that what the world is experiencing now is the early effects of global warming - even if a few privately suspect it to be so."' (Time, July 19, 1993).

Three weeks later, Time magazine wrote again:

"Floods are as ancient as Noah's time and as new as last week. In southern China rushing rivers have killed more than 150 people over the past two months and left 1.6 million homeless. In Nepal at least 1,800 died two weeks ago as flash floods and landslides swept away mountain villages; 1,350 lost their lives in northern India and Bangladesh after the monsoon hit the subcontinent with more than usual severity. In the US, the cost of damage to homes, businesses and farmland from overflowing Mississippi and its tributaries is expected to reach $12 billion." (Time, August 9, 1993).

Only two years ago, nearly three quarters of Bangladesh was under water and in central China 3000 people died and more than 200 million had their lives disrupted by flood. Now, floods ravage these countries again.

In Africa, the drought has been extending southwards from the Sahara region through the eastern rim all the way to the southern parts. Some of those countries have been forced to round up animals in their national parks and relocate them elsewhere to save them from complete annihilation after the rivers and their natural habitats have dried up. They cannot do the same with human beings for there is no where to move them.

Here in Australia we have been experiencing the worst drought on record too. Time magazine did not tell the whole story when it said that Western Queensland was affected by the longest and most severe drought. New South Wales and other parts of the country are just as affected. At the same time, South Australia suffered $2 billion loss of farm produce in the worst flood in that state's history.

The drought in New South Wales brought with it another unexpected disaster. Without enough rains to flush down the "fertilizing" phosphates from the land, a growth of poisoning algae have infested thousands of kilometers of vital river systems, and created a health hazard to dozens of towns and cities, and millions of cattle, sheep and native animals.

Droughts are a natural occurrence in this country, but the severity and frequency with which they have been occurring lately indicate that they no longer follow a natural cycle. Man has had a leading hand in bringing about this disaster.

Not long after I arrived in this country, a little over a decade ago, I was offered a job in a small country town in central New South Wales. As I traveled to take up my position there, I was appalled by what I saw in the countryside. In many places you could look as far as the horizon and not see a tree in sight. This is not the area marked as desert on the map, but the most fertile agricultural land in the country.

The farmers have cut down the trees to make it easy for their agricultural machinery and to increase their profit. In the Australian climate this is nothing short of madness. In so doing, they have weakened the soil against wind and rains, and created conditions for continuous and severe droughts.

Two years ago, the city of Melbourne was paralysed not by a rainstorm, but by a dust storm. That is why trees are so important to the land: they anchor down the soil, provide vital relief from heat for humans, birds and animals, maintain humidity in the soil, draw in the clouds and precipitate rain, help maintain a natural cycle and minimize the need for artificial fertilizers.

In my days as a child in Romania, I remember how my parents used to take particular care to maintain a few trees on each parcel of our land. We did not have much land, only about four hectares, but that was almost sufficient for our needs because it was well taken care of. Although the crops were not growing very well in the shadow of those trees, this was more than compensated by the fruits we were collecting from them. You would be surprised by how much fruit you can collect from a few well cared for trees. My parents used to sell some, make brandy from others, and still have enough to dry up for the winter. We had no fridge and no supply of fresh fruits during the winter, but we did not suffer because of that. Our attics were full of fruits, seeds and nuts, our cellar full of vegetables - some raw some pickled – and with the meat and dairy products from our few animals (a cow, about a dozen ship, a couple of goats, a dozen chicken or so) we had an almost idyllic lifestyle. The people in the village led a healthier life style than we do now in the cities with all our amenities.

My parents never planted the same crop two years in a row. They always alternated crops. But all that was destroyed when the communists came with their “scientific socialism." The trees, the hedges and the dams were leveled out and everyone was forced to work on huge featureless estates. They never alternated crops, always planting wheat. Within a few short years, the land lay in ruins and the people in misery.

The communists must be the only people in the history of the world who never learned from their mistakes. No matter how bad things became, they persisted with their ill-conceived practices. When the crops kept failing, they decided that it was because of saboteurs. So they started arresting and killing the leading and most efficient peasants, “the enemies of the proletariat." They were made an example to other reluctant peasants, but things did not improve. The communist utopia turned into an indescribable nightmare. And to think that there are still people who believe in that kind of communism and want to restore it.

Before the communists took over, Romania was one of the granaries of Europe. Now it is an impoverished country. Romania is also one of the worst hit countries by the drought which has affected much of Eastern Europe and Russia. Nature inevitably takes its course on those who disregard its laws.

The question is who forced the Australian, the American and other free world farmers to adopt equally destructive farming methods? Is it a mere coincidence that with the destruction of most of the world's forests and the adoption of such ruinous farming methods, the world finds itself in a crisis of survival?

The Cold War ended with the demise of communism, but how much hope does capitalism offer?

“As far back as 1942, William Hocking, professor of philosophy at Harvard, dismissed the nostrum that urbanization was the key to economic and social progress. 'Capitalism can maintain its health only on three conditions,' he wrote. (i) It must take the problem of employment as its collective responsibility: it must satisfy the will to work. (ii) The owning and use of capital must be general. (iii) Ownership in its sense must be widely diffused; this means the ownership of real property instead of mere abstract tokens such as money and securities. And real property comes to its best expression in the farm operated by its owner or owners, for here we have capital bearing its natural and unchallenged fruit in direct response to labor and intelligent investment.

Five decades later such concepts are not even worth a laugh in a society which prefers to make its money out of paper-shuffling, but is now, as a result of this interpretation of progress, flat on its back waiting for the Keating-type recovery which, whether in Australia, Britain or the United States, never comes.

One of the West's most successful practitioners of ‘playing the markets’, Sir James Goldsmith, put his finger on the nub. 'When people are forced to move from the countryside to the towns, both the countryside and the towns are destabilized. The famous favelas of Brazil, the slums of such mega-towns as Rio de Janeiro, did not exist before the Green Revolution, which was supposed to eradicate hunger throughout the world by applying science to agriculture and thereby increasing output...

Large mechanized, scientific farms did produce more food per person directly employed, but those no longer employed were chased into towns, creating vast urban concentrations with their attendant slums.

As they were uprooted not only from their homes but also from their cultures and families, the refugees and their children were reduced to dependence on welfare and crime."' (B.A. Santamaria, The Weekend Australian, July 31, 1993).

There are now close to 30 million unemployed people in the Western industrial countries, and their numbers are still growing.

"Germany is in its worst recession since the postwar recovery; Britain, mired in it for the past three years, is struggling to clamber out of its longest slump since the Great Depression. 'No one's job has been safe. That's virtually unprecedented,' says Howard Davies, director general of the Confederation of British Industry." (Time, July 5, 1993).

"The continuing international recession (apart from China and the developing Asian economies) has many people concerned that the world's trading system is on verge of collapse, with serious consequences including increasing political conflict between the US, Europe and Japan...

The result of the renewed Japan-bashing and the enthusiasm for ‘managed trade’ and the North American Free Trade Agreement by the Clinton Administration may not merely be the relative impoverishment of the world economy. The dangers inherent in allowing the US to slide into regionalism are greater than that... The world - especially the Western world - has undergone a transformation during the past 10 years. It has been a decade marked by rapid, cataclysmic change that has produced a new configuration of social, economic and organizational forces." (The Bulletin, August 3, 1993).

The former Soviet Union gave us Chernobyl then it collapsed. The world breathed a sigh of relief in the hope that the Cold War and the danger of nuclear confrontation were over. What the world did not know then was that the legacy of communism is just as catastrophic for the world as the danger from its nuclear arsenals: "Russia's nuclear-powered submarines and ice-breakers pose a greater danger of nuclear accidents than do its atomic power plants, according to Jane's Intelligence review" (The Sun-Herald, August 8,1993).

People who are environmentally conscious know about the devastation caused by the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska. But how many people know that in the vast Russian wilderness, four times that amount is being spilled every day from the decaying antiquated oil installations? The damage done to the environment by the oil spill and its many accompanying fires is incalculable. The topsoil is being destroyed and the ground below, which was permanently frozen, is beginning to melt. Scientists fear that this will affect the global climate. Already in 1990, the temperature in the Arctic Circle reached 40 degrees Celsius, eight degrees above the normal.

On the political scene, things are hardly better. The West has put all its hopes in President Yeltsin's ability and determination to introduce democratic reforms in Russia. But what will happen when he is no longer on the scene? He is in poor health, and while there seem to be no obvious contenders who can step in his shoes and continue his reforms, there are many powerful rivals who call for the restoration of the Russian empire.

On the economic sphere, the one great resource that gives Russia its hard currency and keeps its grossly outdated industry going, is oil. But now it has been estimated that its oil reserves will dry out within a decade. What will the political and military leaders do when they see their people being decimated by hunger and their nuclear arsenal brought to nothing for lack of fuel? The dangers coming from that part of the world are yet to be comprehended.

Last year, gathered at the Rio International Summit, more than one hundred heads of states to discuss the frightening deterioration of the environment. They discussed things, and that's all. Has anyone heard anything about that event since?

Human beings have an uncanny ability to discuss things when they get to a crisis point, then leave the problems to others to resolve. This time, however, the problems will not be resolved by others. The world is no longer facing temporary local problems, but intractable worldwide problems. It is no longer a question of survival, but one of salvation. But science cannot save; only God can.

Human beings, however, have decided that there is no room for God in their deliberations. Even when the world is crumbling around them, when it is becoming obvious that life itself is in danger of extinction, they will not turn to the only source that can save them.

They seek immortality through "scientific" methods such as cryogenics (deep-freezing of the corpse in the hope that one day scientists will discover the secret of immortality, cure their diseased bodies and revive them to eternal life), and perpetual replacement of body parts with robotic devises or genetically cloned body parts. That's the kind of immortality science offers humanity.

That educated people can come up with such absurdities is a witness to the bankruptcy of our educational system. That is the effect of compartmentalizing our tertiary studies in rigid disciplines without any relation to each other. It should be obligatory for all university students to study humanity subjects. As it is, we get medical graduates without ethics, lawyers without morals, and scientists with distorted visions of the future.

They need to study not just any humanity subjects, but the good old fashion classics, philosophy and religion. During my university studies, the head of the Religious Studies Department once said that "time was when in philosophical studies people talked about God and the meaning of life, about ethics and values, but no more." These days they have a "Theory" that if people understand what they study, it is not worth studying.

Searching for truth, God, and a moral purpose in life does not go well with evolutionary thinking. In the struggle for survival there is no room for compassion, altruistic feelings and transcendental goals. Hedonistic materialism and the pursuit of mindless pleasures, are the things that count in our "enlightened" society. That is why humanity finds itself on the brink of catastrophe.

RELIGIOUS DECEPTION

While human beings refuse to believe in the true God, they have no qualms about believing in demonism, satanic rituals, witchcraft, blasphemy, infidelity, adultery, horror, perversions, incest, etc. Go to any bookstore and see how many books you find there about these subjects, and then see how many books you can find about God. Few people suspect that there is a spiritual connection in all these things.

It is no mere coincidence that at a time when the very survival of life on this planet is in question, humanity finds itself in the darkest spiritual condition. The problems the world is facing these days are the ones Jesus Christ said would occur at the end of this age. In the twenty forth chapter of the book of Matthew, He spoke of wars and rumors of wars, of famines, pestilences, earthquakes, tribulations, betrayals, lawlessness, etc. Anyone reading that chapter would not fail to recognize that they are very much part of our world today.

Jesus Christ said that these things will culminate in a world conflagration of such magnitude that unless God intervenes to cut those days short no flesh will survive. Why is it then that in spite of all these ominous signs people still do not understand the urgency of the times in which we live? It is because of deception. Deception on such a scale that staggers the imagination.

Jesus Christ began and finished His prophecy by telling His followers to be on guard against false preachers, false prophets and false christs:

"Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, 'Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?' And Jesus answered and said to them: 'Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am Christ,' and shall deceive many."' (Matt. 24:3-5).

"And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened. Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ' or 'There' do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you before hand." (Matt. 24:22-25).

If religious deception is so widespread and plays such an important role in world affairs at this time, why don't we hear about it more often? Who are the people who are deceived, who are the deceivers, and who are the elect? Herein lies one of the most astounding mysteries of all time. Arm yourself with a good Bible, and get ready for the discovery of your life.

THE WORK OF ELIJAH

At one time, the disciples of Jesus Christ came to Him and asked:

“‘Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?’ Then Jesus answered and said to them, 'Elijah truly is coming first and will restore all things. But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands.' Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist." (Matt. 17:10-13).

Before Jesus Christ returns to this earth, a prophet must come in the spirit of Elijah to restore all things. Not just a few things, but ALL THINGS. The question is, what are the things that need to be restored?

To begin with, if there is so much deception at this time, the first thing that needs to be restored is truth. In the Bible, truth is associated with the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, and falsehood with a false gospel. The most obvious place to look to see if a deception has taken place is in relation to the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. Indeed, this is what Apostle Paul wrote:

"But even if our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them." (2 Cor. 4:3-4).

If the Gospel was already being veiled from those who did not believe the truth two thousand years ago, what must be the condition of the world now? What gospel is being preached in the churches these days? If it is the correct gospel, why is there a need for Elijah to come and restore all things? ‘All things’ surely must include the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. The most important thing then that needs to be restored is the Gospel that Jesus Christ delivered to us.

When the god of this world set out to deceive the world, he chose the Gospel as his main target. Getting people to believe a wrong gospel means causing them to loose their salvation.

The true Gospel is virtually unknown even among the Christian churches let alone among the rest of the world. If Christ were to return before Elijah completed his preparatory work, He would not be recognized as a Savior; He would be regarded as a hostile alien. Dozens of films have been made about the arrival of dangerous aliens, but none about the arrival of a benevolent and loving Savior. If you think that there is no connection between what they do in Hollywood and the religious deception perpetuated in the world, you do not understand what the world is being prepared for.

The Bible says that before the great day of the Lord, the whole world will be gathered to do battle against Jesus Christ (Rev. 16:14-16). This means that Elijah will not have had much success in getting the world to believe his message, but at least his work will serve as a witness against an unbelieving world.

The next thing which needs to be restored, and one which connects well with the first, is faith. In a discussion with His disciples Jesus Christ implied that when He returns there will be little faith in the world: "Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8).

Truth and faith go hand in hand. If one disappears, the other is sure to follow suit. Truth about God's plan for mankind and faith in His love and power of salvation are the missing ingredients in the world today. But how can people believe in God when they are bombarded from birth till death with the fallacy of evolution? Our educational system is not designed to reveal God, but to prevent human beings from discovering Him.

Even the Churches of God - the most fundamentalist of all churches - have succumbed to this deception. To be sure, they don't preach straight Darwinian evolution - they have sweetened it with gaps and long ages - but this does not make it any less satanic.

The third important element missing in the world today is love. A well-known song says, "what the world needs now is love, sweet love." Yes, love sweet love, the problem is, those who sing it know little about true love. They have equated love with lust and infatuation, and while there is plenty of that around there is precious little true love, the love that comes from God.

"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse." (Mal. 4:5-6).

There has been much discussion in the churches about who “the fathers” in this passage might be. The Churches of God have decided that they are the Patriarchs of the Old Testament. They have not explained though how one is to turn the heart of dead people to their children and vice verse.

Most biblical prophecies have a dual fulfillment. In this case, the word refers as much to our human parents - families are torn apart by divorce and hatred - as to our heavenly Fathers. The prophet Isaiah wrote:

"Look down from heaven, and see Your habitation, holy and glorious. Where is Your zeal and Your strength, the yearning of Your heart and Your mercies toward me? Are they restrained? Doubtless You are our Father, though Abraham was ignorant of us, and Israel does not acknowledge us. You, 0 Lord, are our Father; our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name." (Is. 63:15-16).

The Patriarchs are not the fathers; "Abraham is ignorant of us, and Israel does not acknowledge us”, but God the Creator is. And so is Jesus Christ. When the first humans were created God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness". He did not say, I will make man in My image, according to My likeness, but "Our image" and "Our likeness".

When one of the disciples asked Jesus to show them the Father, He said: "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father?"' (John 14:9). And when they asked Him to teach them how to pray, this is what He told them:

"When you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues [and churches] and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

But when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray:

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.

Your Kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

For Yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen." (Matt. 6:9-13).

Jesus Christ used the word ‘Father’ no less than four times in this passage to refer to our Creator God. But why did He not tell His disciples to pray to the Fathers instead of the Father, did He not know that there were at least two people at the moment of creation? Of course He knew, He was the second Person (John 1:13). But the convention throughout the Bible is that we pray to the Godhead, the Creator God and Father of all.

Jesus Himself prayed to the Father, and since He acknowledged that the Father is greater than Him (John 14:28), we must follow his example and pray to the Father too, not the Fathers.

We could have cited only the first verse of the “Lord's Prayer”, to prove our point, but we thought we'd give you the whole thing in case you decide to try it sometime. When you pray, do it slowly and think about the meaning of each verse. When you finish once, do it again, and a third time if need be. After that, you may bring before God your other problems.

Do not go before God with requests only; start by giving Him praise, glory and honor; thank Him for His great creation, and for calling you to become His son or daughter. You will notice the peace of mind and the confidence that come with prayer almost from the beginning. The more you pray, the better you will feel.

There is no prescribed amount of time required for prayer, but as a general guide if you begin and end your day with this formula, you have what should be your minimum for the day. In the Bible, there are examples of short and effective prayers and of long prayers. Jesus Christ used to pray by the hour, but you are not Jesus Christ and neither am I.

Some churches forbid their followers to repeat the Lord's Prayer - the Churches of God among them - on the pretext that Jesus Christ told His followers not to engage in vain repetitions. Repeating the “Lord's Prayer” twice or three times slowly for the purpose of sinking in its message is not vain repetition. If you have ever heard the Hare Krishna people chanting their mantras you will understand what a vain repetition is. Even some Christian churches have a fixed formula which they repeat ad nauseam. That is vain repetition.

When you pray, imagine the Father and Jesus Christ on their throne listening to you, ready to help you overcome your problems and weaknesses. Do not think of God as being distant and unapproachable, but as a loving and forgiving Father.

You must not put anyone between you and God such as a saint or Mary the mother of Jesus. Neither should you listen to those who say that God and Jesus Christ are not distinct persons. This is what the ministers in the Worldwide Church of God are preaching these days:

"We do not believe that the Bible teaches that the Father and the Son are persons. Neither do we believe that the Father created Jesus.” (The Plain Truth, January 1993, p.2).

What Bible do these people read? We have not heard of a Bible that does not teach that God created us in His image. And if He created us in His image, then we look like Him, and He like us. If Jesus Christ was not created by the Father, then to whom did He pray all the time and whom did He call Father? To say that He was not created by God is to deny that He had a Father, and that is blasphemy. Have these people ever read these Scriptures:

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have preeminence." (Col. 1:15-18).

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

This only shows how far the Churches of God have departed from the truth. Any wonder that Elijah must come to restore all things.

Jesus Christ took upon Himself human nature to show us the way of salvation. He delivered to us the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, was crucified, resurrected, and was seen by hundreds of people before He ascended to heaven. Yet, those who claim to be His ministers say that neither He nor the Father are persons. Great is the spiritual darkness that has fallen upon this world.

If you wonder why we keep referring to the Churches of God, it is because they play an important role in the Bible, and because they have become the leading deceivers in the world today.

Isn't it remarkable that the first thing people do when they depart from God is to deny His existence? The Jews also deny that God has any specific image or form. That is what the chief rabbi of the Great Synagogue in Sydney declared recently.

There are dozens of Scriptures in the Old Testament which show that God has the same characteristics that we humans have. He speaks, He eats, He walks, He gets angry, He forgives, He has feelings and body parts as we do. And it cannot be otherwise, for we have been created in His image.

Do you understand now the meaning of these Scriptures?

"I was sought by those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me.

I said, 'Here I am, here I am,' to a nation called by My name.

I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people,

Who walk in a way that is not good, according to their own thoughts." (Is. 65:1-2).

Who are the people who sought God and did not find Him? In the Old Testament, the Jews; in the New Testament, the Christians. Not the true Jews and the true Christians, but the pretenders. (See John 8:37-44; Rev. 2:9).

God is our Father and to Him we must turn our hearts and love Him if He is to turn His heart to us and love us. Unless Elijah fulfils this important mission, the world will perish. The word "curse" in Malachi 4:6 can be translated as “utter destruction." But why has God turned His heart away from us? Because human beings have turned their hearts away from Him in the first place. What is God to do when puny human beings say that He does not exist, that they created themselves?

If Elijah's work is so important for the salvation of the world, why is he alone in doing this work? What are the ministers and the priests preaching in their churches? Why are they not out there working with him? Is it not because they have been deceived by the god of this world with a false gospel and are unable to recognize the true Gospel anymore?

"Now the spirit expressly says that in the latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons." (1 Ti. 4:1).

“For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.” (Matt. 24:5).

Be careful therefore that you do not fall under the spell of those who are led by “seducing spirits”, who think and that they are ministers of Christ, yet are deceiving those who accept their doctrines.

THE TWO WITNESSES

Before the return of Jesus Christ, the Bible says that there will be only two people in the world who will be witnessing God's message:

"And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy [there are already droughts in most parts of the worl