ON THE BRINK OF CATASTROPHE
“‘This world is headed for
absolute catastrophe at 1000 miles an hour and we are not even going to die
with dignity. That's the horror of it all.’
The man who has everything and has done everything appears to agonise over
what still needs to be done - including saving the planet. ‘That's what keeps
me going. I mean, enough is enough.’"
(The Weekend Australian, Global Warfare,
March 23, 1994).
These are the words
of Ted Turner, owner of the highly successful CNN International Broadcasting
Network, a man who knows news and understands world developments. Since 1990, we have been proclaiming a
similar message to the leaders of the world, yet everyone still behaves as if
everything is normal.
We
have proven more than once that the gospel they are preaching is not the right
one, that there has been a great falling away from the truth of God, yet they
continue to ignore our Gospel and the damage they are causing to their
followers and the world with their gospel.
Since
we started this work, in accordance with biblical prophecies, we have shown
“the Way” (Acts 9:2; 19:9,23; 24:14,22), and revealed more biblical prophecies
than anyone else, yet our messages continue to be ignored and we still
"cry in the wilderness". In
previous editions, we revealed the prophecies about the “false prophet”, the
"abomination of desolation", the “holy place”, and others, and in
this edition, we continue that work by revealing the prophecy about the end
time "beast" which will plunge the world into the great tribulation.
Biblical
prophecies are revealed before they are fulfilled, as a warning of God's
impending intervention in world affairs. For the world this is bad news, but
for the people of God this is great news. Our salvation is truly at hand. There
has never been greater proof of God's involvement in world affairs than
fulfilled prophecy. The time has arrived for humanity to choose between God and
Satan, between the ways of life and the ways of death.
The
leading forces in the world are determined to wipe out any trace of holiness
from the world. They do not realise that
in so doing they are leading the world to catastrophe and digging their own
grave. The United Nations, with whom rested the hope of humanity for a world of
"peace, justice, and prosperity," has proven once again that it is
totally bankrupt, morally and spiritually.
The
genocide in
The
Bosnian government and people fell into the trap of believing the United
Nations’ guarantees of protection in the so-called "safe heavens" in
spite of all evidence to the contrary.
What
the media headlines do not tell you is that there is a hidden agenda in the
Bosnian war. European leaders do not want to see a Muslim state established in
the heart of
What
we have in the Balkans, and in many other places, is not a localised ethnic
war, but a fully-fledged religious war. The Orthodox Church in particular is on
the march, and the world better take note. The Russian Orthodox Church may have
suffered a serious setback when its wayward child - the communist system -
collapsed, but its dream of conquering the world has not diminished.
As
those in power around the world are beginning to realise that this planet
cannot sustain even the present population let alone the explosion which
threatens to double it within a generation, you will see leaders taking
desperate measures in an effort to maximise their people's survival. Since no
other force has proven as enduring and as capable of rousing people's hopes and
pride in times of national and international stress, you will soon see
religious leaders calling on their faithful to march again under their religion's
standards. The results will be catastrophic for the world. Jesus' warning that
unless God intervenes to put a stop to this human madness no flesh would be
left alive, will finally be fulfilled.
The
slide into the precipice has been accelerated by the recent decision of the
United Nations to become the moral and spiritual policeman of the world. Not in upholding God's law, but Satan's rule.
The
case of the Tasmanian homosexual who took his case to the United Nations is
well known. The UN Human Rights Committee demanded that the Tasmanian
Government overturn its anti-gay provisions from its Criminal Code because they
violated "basic human rights".
"'I am amazed that a UN human rights committee would consider it a
basic human right that people should be able to commit sodomy,' said the
Tasmanian Attorney-General, Mr Ron Cornish.
[But] a
Of
course! All that is needed is for the ground to be broken in one country and
the floods of hell are opened everywhere.
People may well remember that the first public demonstrations by the
"gay liberation movement" took place in
The
day the UN Human Rights Committee decided for homosexuality, the Australian
public broadcasting network - the ABC - presented a lengthy panel discussion on
the plight of the transvestite people ("transgenders",
as they like to be called). They were complaining that the UN decision does
nothing for them. Being free to do whatever they want in private is not good
enough. They want to be able to go out in public, tell people about their
gender preferences, and be loved for it.
But when they do that they say that they usually get bashed, and they
wonder why? Now, they want the United Nations to do something for them
too. And, nice and obliging as those at
the UN are, they will no doubt find a way to uphold the transgenders'
"basic rights" too.
The
degrees of moral, spiritual and physical degradations in this world have
reached such a level that unless God intervenes to save His people soon there
will be nothing left to save. The world is quickly reaching the level in which
it will be impossible for anyone to lead a holy life.
Jesus
Christ said that His followers are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses
its flavour, it is good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot
(Matt.5:13). The earth without the people of God will
be good for nothing but to be destroyed. The Scriptures say that "when the
power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall
be finished" (Dan. 12:7). Who are the holy people in these dangerous times
if not those who preach the Gospel of the
People
around the world may have heard of, or seen on their television sets, the
charade called "Sydney Gay Mardi Gras Festival" which takes place in
this city once a year.
During
the parade, they vilify, ridicule, and lampoon political and religious figures,
angels and deities, and anyone they hold a grudge against. One of their
favourite caricatures is dressing like Catholic nuns and calling themselves,
"sisters of perpetual indulgence".
Last
year, the New South Wales Government introduced draconian legislation that
prohibits anyone from "vilifying" homosexual people, but does not
prohibit the homosexuals from doing the same to the "straight"
people. In this state, one can
blaspheme, take the name of God in vain, and say anything he wants against God,
Jesus Christ and the angels, but heaven help those who dare speak against a
homosexual. They can lose their house and spend 20 years in jail.
The
Throughout
history, the servants of God received more honour from foreigners than from
their own people. We are grateful to the Kings, Presidents, Prime Ministers and
other national leaders who have sent us words of gratitude and
encouragement. However, this is no
longer enough. Nothing short of complete
repentance will suffice this time. No refuge in concrete bunkers, in deserts,
or in mountaintops will save anyone from the coming wrath of God.
One
of our readers suggested that we go to the church leaders and tell them about
our work because, "many would be happy to help us produce a better quality
magazine." Our articles, she said, deserve to be made known to more
people. She did not know that these magazines have been sent to as many
national and religious leaders as we could locate. It made little difference.
Now
our call for repentance is accompanied by definitive proof that dark clouds are
gathering from the north over the whole world.
If they ignore these writings now they do so at their own peril and that
of their own people.
"Repent and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the
remission of sins and receiving of the Holy Spirit, for the Kingdom of Heaven
is truly at hand" (Acts 2:38; Matt.3:2)...
“My little children, these things I write to you, that you may not sin.
And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours
only but also FOR THE WHOLE WORLD.
“Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He
who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a
liar, and the truth is not in Him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love
of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him... He who says he is in the light, and hates his
brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the
light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him...
“Do
not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the
love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world - the lust of
the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life - is not of the Father
but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he
who does the will of God abides forever.
“Little children, it is
the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even
now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. ” (1John 2:1-4, 9-10, 15-17).
THE “SPLENDOUR” OF THE CATHOLIC “TRUTH”
In 1993, the
Millions of people
around the world go to church on Sundays and celebrate Easter, Christmas and various
saints days in the belief that these are the Holy Days Jesus Christ wanted them
to observe. What they do not know is
that even today, nearly two thousand years after the establishment of the first
New Testament churches, there are still a large number of Christians who
worship on Saturdays and celebrate the Passover, Days of Unleavened Bread, Day
of Atonement and the Feasts of Weeks, Trumpets and Tabernacles.
Sometime in the
history of the Christian Church, a great schism occurred which split the "body
of Christ" into two irreconcilable camps. The questions are: when did this
schism occur, why did it happen, who was responsible for it, and which side
should one follow for it is clear that both camps cannot be right.
Whenever this issue
has been debated in the past, a whole range of obscure, difficult to obtain,
ancient sources have been quoted to support one viewpoint or another, with the
result that the average people were in no position to discover the truth and
decide for themselves. It was more convenient to leave the matter to those who
were "educated" in the Scriptures, in the belief that they knew what
they were doing. Surely thousands of priests, ministers, church leaders,
evangelists and millions of their followers could not be wrong, could they?
You
will be surprised to know how many people preach what they ought not to and how
little attention most churchmen have paid to the teachings of the Bible. Fortunately, our society has provided the
means by which anyone can discover the truth without much difficulty. All one
has to do is go to the local library and search in any of the major
encyclopaedias under such topics as : Sunday, Easter, Christmas, Passover, Quartodecimans, calendar, Roman religion, Holy Days, and
whatever other topics these articles may refer you to. Of course, the
indispensable guide in such studies is the Bible for, in the final analysis, it
alone can tell us what we need to know about the correct Christian Holy Days,
salvation, and any other questions of Christian concern.
If you
undertake such a study, you will discover that at the time Christianity became
the official religion of the Roman Empire, a major controversy erupted over the
question of the correct Holy Days. A minority group advocated the observance of
the "Jewish" Holy Days, while the majority sought to establish a new
set of "Christian" Holy Days. The Council of Nicaea in 325 AD
resolved this dispute in favor of the majority and decreed that those who
adhered to the Jewish Holy Days be declared heretics. The problem is that when the Roman ecclesiastical authorities took this
decision, they did not use the Bible as their guide, but the writings of the
so-called, "Church Fathers."
What follows is an account of the implications of this decision from the
respected Encyclopaedia Britannica.
"The Julian calendar
brought order into the computation of dates and, being in principle a solar
calendar, was successful in correlating the civil and astronomical years over a
long period, thus keeping the seasons and the months in step. However, it could
act only as a guide for the regulation of the dates of religious festivals in
the Christian Church because the chief of these were founded on events dated by
the Jewish lunar calendar. The Christian Church had therefore to find a method
of reckoning these festivals and of synchronizing the observance of each by
Christians throughout the world."
Why?
Why couldn't the new "Christian Church" continue to reckon these
religious festivals according to the Jewish lunar calendar? The Jews had been
observing these festivals for over a thousand years and had no difficulty
synchronising their observance in the countries in which they were scattered by
the various invaders. By the time this became an issue with the Romans, the
earlier Christian Church had been observing these "religious
festivals" for more than two centuries too. They did not have difficulties
with the lunar calendar either.
It was not the
Christian Church which needed a new way of reckoning these "religious
festivals," but the Roman Church, and that for reasons other than the ones
stated here, as it shall become obvious shortly.
"This
necessitated the construction of a combined lunisolar
calendar. Those festivals based on Jewish reckoning were movable, i.e., they
were held on a different date each year in consequence of their dependence on
the phases of the moon; while those established by later ecclesiastical decree,
e.g., commemorations of saints, could be immovable, i.e., on the same date each
year, through being reckoned by the solar calendar and not by the lunar. The earliest question to be decided was
the date of Easter, which is the most important of the church's festivals and
from which the dates of all other "movable" feasts are
determined." (Underlining ours).
Indeed, if Easter
could be given a new date and meaning and be isolated from its Jewish roots,
all the other "Jewish" Holy Days could be done away with too and a
new set of "Christian" Holy Days be created.
"There arose by the 2nd century AD, disputes among Christians
concerning the date on which it was proper to celebrate Easter. Because the crucifixion
occurred before the Jewish Passover,"
The crucifixion occurred on the day of the Jewish Passover, not before it. It occurred at the beginning of the Days of Unleavened Bread. This is what Moses told the people of Israel when they were delivered from Egyptian slavery: "And it shall be, when your children say to you, 'What do you mean by this service?' that you shall say, 'It is the Passover sacrifice of the Lord, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households'" (Ex. 12:26-27). Jesus Christ became the Passover sacrifice for those who believe - He died on that day not before it.
"Easter was computed according to the Jews' mode of determining
this festival. The Passover was ordained to be celebrated on the 14th day of
the first month of the new year; i.e., of the lunar
month whose 14th day falls on or next following the vernal equinox.
Notice
how cleverly and unassumingly the authors cross over from Easter to Passover.
They know that originally Easter was another name for Passover, but from here
on Easter and Passover take on different meanings. "The word Easter, which
comes from the Anglo-Saxon, is a term derived from the pagan goddess of the
dawn. The Latin variation, Pascha, is from Hebrew
antecedents; it is derived from the Passover, or their freedom from the
Egyptians, which is celebrated in the Jewish calendar of feasts." (The Catholic Encyclopedia,
article under Easter, p.177). Back to
the Britannica:
"However, because the civil
calendar was of solar origin and because Sunday was the main day for Christian
congregational worship, it became generally agreed that the Sunday next
following the date of the old Jewish Passover should be the date set aside for
Easter."
Sunday
was not the main day for Christian congregational worship during the apostolic
age. Saturday was.
In
many countries, Easter is still called Pascha - the
Latin name for Passover. The Romans, however, sought to change both its date
and its meaning for reasons which had nothing to do with standardising its
observance throughout the empire, and more to do with synchronising its
observance to coincide with the worship of an old god - the Sun god - whose
symbol it became shortly afterwards.
"There were, however, those who wished to take a more literal view
and to observe the exact Jewish date and so celebrate Easter on the 14th day of
the lunar month; i.e., on the day usually conceded to be the time of the full
moon."
The early
Christians celebrated the Passover on the 14th of the lunar month because the
Apostles did so. For them, the question
of changing the "Jewish" Holy Days with "Christian" Holy
Days never arose. They simply continued to observe the Old Testament Holy Days
in the spirit of the New Testament. It
was only when the Romans took interest in Christianity that this became an
issue.
"These literalists, or Quartodecimans, as
they were called, were a minority and were regarded as heretics.
Wasn't that
wonderful? People who were not Christians came into the Church and regarded as
heretics those who were observing their Christian traditions.
"In 325 the ecumenical Council of Nicaea ordained that Easter day
should thenceforth be celebrated on the Sunday immediately following either
that full moon which occurs on the day of the vernal equinox or, if there is no
full moon on that day, then on the Sunday following that full moon which occurs
next after the day of the vernal equinox or, if there is no full moon on that
day, then on the Sunday following that full moon which occurs next after the
day of the vernal equinox. In order
to prevent the festival from coinciding with either the Jewish Passover or with
the celebrations of the Quartodecimans, special
provision was made, should the full moon actually occur on a Sunday, to
defer the celebrations of Easter until the next Sunday.” (Encyclopaedia Britannica,
“Easter and the Ecclestiasical Calendar,” Vol. 4,
1970, p. 616).
At
last we have the truth: the main purpose for changing the Christian Holy Days with
Roman Holy Days was to break any connection between them and their Jewish
background. How many people know that originally Easter meant Passover and that
it commemorated not the resurrection, but the crucifixion of Jesus Christ?
The
impression the Roman ecclesiastical authorities wanted to convey was that the
changes they instituted at the Council of Nicaea freed the Christian Church
from its Jewish entanglements. What occurred in fact was the appearance of a
new church - the Roman Church - which had no resemblance to the Churches of God
established by the Apostles: not in beliefs, doctrines, practices, nor in Holy
Days.
The
Romans sought to differentiate between the Jewish and the Quartodeciman
celebrations of the Passover as if they were different. In meaning they were
different - the Christians no longer sacrificed lambs on that day - but in
their date of observance they were not. They both celebrated it on the 14th day
of the first lunar month. The name Quartodeciman
comes from the Latin term for fourteen.
The
Romans made the Passover the main target of their changes because that Holy Day
represented the connection between the Christian Church and its Jewish
background. Jesus Christ sacrificed Himself on that day, according to the Old
Testament sacrificial laws. In the Old Testament, Passover signified the
passing of Israel from slavery to freedom, while in the New Testament it
signifies our passing from sin to holiness, from the bondage of Satan to the
freedom of God, from death to life. Without the background of the Jewish
Scriptures, not only does Jesus' sacrifice become meaningless, but His divinity
is obliterated too. Now a few things
from the New Encyclopaedia Britannica:
"Regular Christian corporate worship on Sundays goes back to the
apostolic age, but New Testament writings do not explain how the practice
began. Jewish Christians probably kept the Sabbath at the synagogue, then
joined their Gentile fellow believers for Christian worship after the close of
the Sabbath at sundown, either in the evening or early Sunday morning."
Notice
how the Romans justified changing the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday.
They acknowledged that the Scriptures did not "explain" worship on
Sundays, that the "Jewish Christians probably kept the Sabbath at the
synagogue." Not probably, but surely, for we have the writings of the
Apostles which tell us that they did so.
After the Jewish Christians were expelled from the synagogues, they
continued to worship on the Sabbath and observe their "Jewish" Holy Days.
When the Gentile Christians joined them, they also worshipped on the Sabbath
and observed the Old Testament Holy Days.
The
explanation that the Jewish Christians kept the Sabbath at the synagogue, then
joined the Gentile Christians in their Sunday worship, would be laughable if it
weren't for the fact that it tries to hide an apostasy of universal
proportions.
"When the church became predominantly Gentile, Sunday remained as a
customary day of worship."
It remained?
How was it a customary day of worship before then? Who kept it as a day of
worship before the Gentiles became predominant - the Jews? The Encyclopaedia Britannica writers and
editors ought to have researched their facts better. This is nothing short of
an apologetic work for the Catholic Church.
"Assemblies for the Eucharist were common on Saturday, however, as
well as on Sunday in the Eastern churches into the 5th century, and Eastern canons
forbade the practice, customary in the Roman Church, of fasting on the Sabbath.
The term Lord's Day, signifying the triumph of Christ in His
resurrection and the beginning of a new creation, was in use by the end of the
1st century (Revelation 1:10; Didache 14; Ignatius of
Antioch, Magnesians 9:1). Some writers referred to
the Sabbath as the rest promised to the people of God at the end of time and to
Sunday as "the eight day," or beginning of a new world (Hebrew
4:4-11; Letter of Barnabas 15)."
Sabbath was not the
day of rest promised to the people of God at the end of time. It was a day of
rest for the people of God from the beginning of time. What "some
writers" thought is totally irrelevant and wrong, and that is proven by
the fact that they counted Sunday as "the eighth day" in a week of
seven days.
"In 321 the Roman emperor Constantine decreed Sunday to be a legal
holiday and forbade all trade and work other then necessary agricultural labor. Later emperors extended the prohibition to include
public amusements in the theatre and circus. Church councils of the period were
more concerned to enforce the obligation of Sunday worship, the earliest being
the Spanish Council of Elvira c. 300;
but a synod of Laodicea (c.381) enjoined Christians not
to "Judaize" but to work on Sabbath and
rest, if possible on the Lord's Day.
Isn't that
extraordinary? Not only was the day of
worship changed from the Sabbath to Sunday, but also people had to prove that
they did not "Judaize" by working on the
Sabbath. A total onslaught on the people who wished to remain faithful to the
Christian ideals and practices established by the Apostles.
"The Old Testament commandment of Sabbath rest received a spiritual
interpretation [what interpretation?] from the Church Fathers when they applied
it to Sunday; e.g., Augustine of Hippo held that the Sabbath rest from servile
work meant abstention from sin (compare Tract. in Joannis,
Book III, chapter 19; Book XX, chapter 2).
"A literal application of the Sabbath law to Sunday became evident
in conciliar canons and civil laws of the Frankish
kingdoms in the 6th century, climaxed by Charlemagne's capitulary adopted by
the Council of Aachen, 789 (canon 80).
So, contrary to the
initial assertion that "regular Christian corporate worship on Sundays
goes back to the apostolic age," it now transpires that the change of
worship from Sabbath to Sunday was an extraordinarily lengthy process lasting
well into the sixth century. In fact, it lasted until our time, for the Romans
never managed to completely obliterate from their dominions the Christians who
continued to worship on the Sabbath and observe the same Holy Days as Jesus
Christ and His Apostles did.
“Medieval legislation thereafter repeatedly sought to enforce the
‘holiday’ of Sunday, as also of many other holy days, for the benefit of serfs
and labourers. Sabbatarian
laws applied to Sunday were also continued by the Protestant Reformation."
The term "Sabbatarian" comes from the Sabbath - the seventh day
of the week - and should never be applied to Sunday. Using it in this context
is misleading and devious.
"The Acts of Uniformity of Edward VI in 1552 and Elizabeth I in
1559 required all persons to attend worship on Sunday, the later imposing a
fine for neglect to do so. The Church of England's Canons of 1604 (number 13)
make similar provision. Many Puritans were strongly Sabbatarian
in sentiment. Some of them referred to Sunday as ‘the Sabbath’."
So, first tell
people to worship on Sunday, and then tell them to pretend it is the
Sabbath. Puritan logic for you.
"In the Puritan colonies of New England, the so-called Blue Laws of
Sunday observance were especially severe. Today some states and cities in the
United States have statutes restricting certain trades and amusements on
Sunday. Church laws continue to insist upon the moral obligation to attend
worship every Lord's Day." (The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th Ed., vol.16,
History of the Church Year, p. 305).
Moral
obligation comes from human beings; spiritual obligation comes from God. The
American Puritans insist upon moral, not spiritual obligation. If they insisted
on spiritual obligation, they would be forced to worship on the Sabbath, for
that is the day which was sanctioned by God as a day of worship and rest.
Encyclopaedia
Britannica makes some interesting comments also under the entry for Roman religion.
"Christianity, unique in its universal charity and unique also in
its demand for a noble effort of faith in Jesus' blend of divinity and
humanity, was the religion that prevailed in the Roman world."
Wrong! Christianity
did not prevail, but rather, was prevailed upon by the Roman world. What ensued
is a Christianity which is unrecognisable by the
standards of the Apostles.
"It satisfied the emperor Constantine's impulsive need for divine
support, and from AD 312 onward, by a complex and gradual process, it became
the official religion of the empire.
For a time, coins and other monuments continued to link Christian
doctrines with the worship of the Sun, to which Constantine had been addicted
previously."
This then is the
reason why the Romans changed the day of worship from the Sabbath to Sunday -
Emperor Constantine was "addicted" to worshipping his Sun god on that
day. How many Christians know why they worship on Sunday?
"But even when this phase came to an end, Roman paganism continued
to exert other, permanent influences, great and small.”
Indeed, virtually
all the Roman "great and small" pagan influences are found in the
traditions of the Catholic Church today.
"The emperors passed on to the popes the title of chief priest, pontifex maximus”
Wrong
again! The emperors acquired that title from the chief Roman priests in the
first place. At the height of his power,
Augustus usurped that title for himself and from him it passed on to all Roman
emperors until close to the end of the empire.
For a while, the emperors eclipsed the Popes, but after the decline of
the empire, the Popes became the undisputed leaders of the Western world. When the title “Pontifex Maximus” was handed
back to them, the Popes accepted it without hesitation as their right.
The
Popes continued to dominate the Roman religion and serve in the temple as chief
priests surrounded by the Vestal Virgins throughout the empire in the same way
that they now serve in the Vatican surrounded by the nuns. The organisation and
hierarchical structure of the Catholic Church is virtually identical to that of
the ancient Roman religion.
"The saints, with their distribution of functions, often seemed to
perpetuate the many numina
of ancient tradition. The ecclesiastical
calendar retains numerous remnants of pre-Christian festivals - notably
Christmas, which blends elements including both the feast of the Saturnalia and
the birthday of Mithra.”
Now this has to be
the most astonishing admission of all. People
celebrate Christmas not because it is the birth of Christ, but the birth of Mithra, His spiritual enemy. And what do the priests and
ministers tell their followers? That it is the birth of Christ. How would you feel if your family and friends
exchanged gifts and were being merry on the day your enemy was born, then said
that they celebrated your birthday? Bear in mind that neither Jesus Christ nor
His Apostles celebrated Jesus' birthday. The Bible does not sanction the
celebration of birthdays.
"But, most of all, the mainstream of Western Christianity owed
ancient Rome the firm discipline that gave it stability and shape, combining
insistence on established forms with the possibility of recognising that
novelties need not be excluded, since they were implicit from the start."
(New Encyc.
Britannica, 15th ed., Vol.18, Roman Religion).
Rome did not give
Christianity "discipline...stability and shape." It gave it
intolerance, deception, hatred, murder and lies. It killed the true Christians and
forced underground those who escaped.
Now this is what The New Catholic Encyclopedia says about
Easter:
"Controversy surrounded
the determination of the date of Easter from the 2d to the 8th century... The Asiatic practice in the 2d century of
observing Easter on the day of the Jewish Passover conflicted with the Roman
custom of celebrating Easter on Sunday, the day of the Resurrection.
Occasionally, the Quartodecimans celebrated
Easter on the day that other Christians were observing Good Friday. Originally
both observances were allowed, but gradually it was felt incongruous that
Christians should celebrate Easter on a Jewish feast, and unity in celebrating
the principal Christian feast was called for. However, an attempt by Pope
Victor I (189-198) to impose Roman usage proved unsuccessful in the face of a
determined opposition led by Polycrates, Bishop of
Ephesus. Although Quartodecimanism waned in the 3d
century, it survived in some Asiatic Churches as late as the 5th century."
Notice how the
earliest attempt to force the change of Christian observance from Passover to
Easter was made by a Pope. Why? Because "unity in celebrating the
principal Christian feast was called for." Who called for it? We are not
told, but it was the Romans not the Christians.
If unity was called for, why did they not unite behind those who, from
the beginning, have been observing the same Holy Days as the Apostles?
"The Council of Arles (314) hoped to achieve uniformity by
observing Easter on the same day as the See of Rome, which was charged with
announcing the date in advance through circular letters. A similar effort was
made in the East at the Council of Nicaea (325). The exact wording of the
Nicene decree is uncertain, but it apparently approved the practice of celebrating
Easter on the Sunday after both the 14th of Nisan and the vernal equinox, thus
implicitly rejecting both Quartodeciman and Jewish
calendars" (The New Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol.5, Easter Controversy, p.8).
The Romans never
accepted the inalienable authority of the Scriptures. For them, tradition and
the decrees of the Pope play a more important role. As they felt superior to
their conquered peoples, they distanced themselves from their culture and
religion. When Christianity proved
irrepressible, they sought to accommodate it within their old religious
practices and beliefs. They discarded everything "Jewish", and gave
Christianity a new face. But the new Christianity retained few connections with
the original church, except in name. Moreover, the new Christianity became the
enemy of the true Churches of God and sought to eliminate them by every means.
That is the "splendour" of the Catholic
"truth"!
THE QUARTODECIMAN CONTROVERSY
FLARES AGAIN
When the Quartodecimans were declared heretics they did not
disappear from the empire, they simply went underground. Throughout the history
of the Roman Empire, and later during the Catholic Holy Roman empires, these
"heretics" surfaced again and again. Whenever they were asked to
explain their position, they invoked the Bible as their authority. But showing
the Bible to a Catholic priest during the Middle Ages
was like putting a red flag in front of a bull. The conclusion was inevitable:
the Bible had to go.
So
the Catholic Church decreed that no one was to possess and read that book
outside the church. For centuries, anyone found owning a Bible risked being
declared a heretic. The church's explanation was that only its priests could
interpret it. Untrained people, they said, were bound to come to erroneous conclusions
which were damaging both to themselves and to the church.
This
interdiction was easy to police as long as the Bible could be proliferated only
by hand written manuscripts. But with
the development of mechanised printing and mass media this became an impossible
task. The Protestant Reformation and Counter-Reformation would not have been
possible without these important technical developments.
After
the original shock, the Catholic Church went on to prosper and expand again,
even managing to bring back some of its lost sheep, as it happens these days
with the disaffected Anglicans after the ordination of women. (One can argue
that going from the Anglican to the Catholic Church is like
jumping from the frying pan into the fire, but for many people belonging to a
church is more important than following the Scriptures).
Earlier
this century, the Catholic Church found itself on the defensive again when a
new wave of fundamentalist churches revived the old Quartodeciman
controversy with unexpected intensity and far reaching consequences. Unlike the
Protestant Reformation, which only skimmed the surface of the Bible, the
Churches of God sought to return to the fundamentals of the church before the
Council of Nicaea corrupted them. But
unlike in ancient times, when the Roman ecclesiastical authorities found it
easier to eliminate the "heretics," nowadays they are forced to
explain their actions by the standards of the Bible. That is difficult for them
to do because, from the beginning, the Catholic Church placed more importance
on tradition and the edicts of the Pope than on the Bible.
Most
of the Catholic beliefs, doctrines and practices can be traced back to pagan
times before the Roman Empire became Christian. Of the few which claim to be of
Christian origin, most originated with the so-called "Church Fathers"
who themselves can be shown to have been apostate believers. Even the title
"Church Fathers" should warn people that something is not right, for
Jesus Christ forbade His followers to call anyone on earth (spiritual) father (Matt.23:9).
When
the Churches of God decided to raise the Quartodeciman
issue again, they chose as their main target the Easter celebrations. They
produced a number of booklets which purport to show that the resurrection did
not occur on Sunday and the crucifixion not on Friday, and that Jesus Christ
was in the grave EXACTLY three days and three nights, not half that time as
traditional Christians believe.
The
reasoning behind this strategy seems to be that by demolishing the idea of
Sunday resurrection, the traditional "Good Friday-Easter Sunday"
celebrations would collapse and people would return to observing the original
Passover in its rightful time. In their calculations, however, the Churches of
God overlooked one important development: the Catholics no longer use their old
arguments to support Easter celebrations. By now a whole new theology has
developed around this event.
At
first, the Romans replaced the Passover with Easter in order to
"synchronise" religious celebrations throughout the empire and
changed the day of worship from the Sabbath to Sunday to satisfy emperor
Constantine's "addiction" to worshipping the Sun god. The resurrection was not mentioned as a
reason for these changes at the Council of Nicaea for a good reason: the early
Christians did not celebrate it. For them, the crucifixion was the important
event because it was unique to Christ - He willingly took our sins and the
penalty of death upon Himself - whereas the resurrection will soon become an
event common to everyone.
Nowadays, Easter is associated
with the resurrection of Jesus Christ and by trying to discredit it, the
Churches of God are made to look as if they are un-Christian, impious, and
irreverent towards Christ. They are victims once again of the revenge of the
Catholic Church. But this does not seem to have deterred the
Worldwide Church of God and its splinter churches. They continue to produce
publications which show that by replacing Passover with Easter, and the day of
worship from Sabbath to Sunday, the Catholic Church distanced itself from
Christ, therefore it has no right to call itself Christian.
In
the booklet "The Resurrection Was
Not on Sunday," the Worldwide Church of God wrote:
"The doubting Pharisees were asking Jesus for a sign-supernatural
evidence-in proof of His Messiahship.
Jesus answered: "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to
it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: for as Jonas was three days and three
nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be THREE DAYS AND THREE
NIGHTS in the heart of the earth" (Matt.12:39-40)
. . ."
"What is wrong with these plain, simple words of Jesus? How do
these wise and prudent theologians know Jesus was crucified 'Good Friday' and
rose 'Easter Sunday'? The simple answer
is, they do not know it for it is not true! It is merely tradition, a tradition
we have been taught from childhood and carelessly assumed! Jesus warns against
'making the word of God of none effect through your tradition' (Mark 7:13)...
Notice
And if Jesus were in the grave only from Friday sunset to Sunday
sunrise, then this text, too, must be torn out of your Bible or else you must
reject the sign Jesus Christ gave! If he arose from the dead after three days,
it might have been more than 72 hours, but it could not have been a second
less.
Notice now
The authors of this diatribe fail to realise
that their examples demolish the very arguments they try to prove. First, they
quote
From
these examples they conclude that Jesus could not have risen one second
earlier, nor one past, the 72 hours. The fact that the same author - Mark -
used both expressions: "after three days rise again" and "he
will be risen the third day," fails to register with them that the Bible
allows a certain degree of flexibility in determining the length of time He
spent in the grave.
If
their arguments are right, it would mean that God sent His angels down to earth
with precision stop watches and told them to stand by the tomb of Jesus Christ
and make sure that the resurrection occurred not one hour, not one minute, not
even ten seconds earlier or later, but exactly on the dot of 72 hours. With
that kind of reasoning, is there any wonder that they find themselves in deep
water with so many of their doctrines.
WHEN DID THE RESURRECTION OCCUR: SATURDAY OR SUNDAY?
There are four
accounts of the resurrection in the Bible - one in each of the four
Gospels. We will analyse
them all, beginning with the Gospel of Matthew, to find out when the
resurrection occurred and settle this question once and for all.
"Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn,
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a
great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and
rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.
His countenance was like lightening, and his clothing as white as snow.
And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. But the angel answered and said to the women,
'Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not
here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And
go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He
is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold I have told you.’ So they departed quickly from the tomb with
fear and great joy, and run to bring His disciples word." (Matt. 28:1-8).
The two women came to the tomb of Jesus
Christ "after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to
dawn." The Jewish days begin at
sunset and continue until the next evening. Some theologians have postulated
that the two women came to the tomb early that day, meaning Saturday after the
sun set, but the word "dawn" tells us that these events took place on
the morning of the first day - the day we now call Sunday.
The
fact that both the women and the guards were terrified tells us that these
events occurred right then and there. If Jesus Christ had been resurrected the
previous day afternoon, He must have come out of the tomb while it was still
sealed.
If that were the case, what
purpose did the earthquake and the rolling back of the stone the next morning
serve, just to terrify the women and the guards? There is nothing in the Gospel of Matthew to
remotely suggest that the resurrection might have occurred the previous
day. The Gospel of Mark gives us the
following account:
"Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of
James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. Very early in the morning, on the first day
of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they said among themselves, 'Who will
roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?' But when they looked up,
they saw that the stone had been rolled away - for it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man
clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were
alarmed. But he said to them, 'Do not be
alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not
here. See the place where they laid Him.
But go and tell His disciples - and Peter - that He is going before you
in Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.'" (Mark 16:1-7).
No mention of an
earthquake here, but all the other details are similar. An angel of the Lord -
a young man - was waiting for the women inside the tomb and told them that
Jesus was not there because He was risen. The words, "very early in the
morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had
risen" tell us that these events took place early the first day of the
week. One cannot conclude from these words that the resurrection occurred the
previous day. Therefore Mark confirms
that the resurrection occurred early the first day of the week, not Saturday
afternoon. Now let us go to the Gospel
of Luke.
"Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they
and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which
they had prepared. But they found the
stone rolled away from the tomb.
Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened, as they were greatly
perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining
garments. Then, as they were afraid and
bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, 'Why do you seek the living
among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when
He was still in Galilee, saying 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the
hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.'"
And they remembered His words. Then they returned from the tomb and told
all these things to the eleven and to all the rest." (Luke 24:1-9).
Unlike
the other Gospel writers, Luke was a Gentile.
He gathered his information from other sources after he converted to
Christianity. He did his best to be as accurate as possible, nevertheless, the
information he gathered from second hand sources was not as reliable as that
found in the other Gospels. He has two
angels instead of one and their message was slightly different. Nevertheless, these differences do not change
the main thrust of the story: the stone was rolled away that morning, the tomb
was empty, and the angels said that Jesus was not there because He was risen.
When was He risen? As in the other Gospels, no exact time is given, but the
description of events leaves no doubt that it occurred early that morning.
Now we come to the
Gospel of John. In John we have as close
a first witness account as we can get.
Apostle John was at the scene of the resurrection within minutes after
its fulfilment.
He spoke with the women who witnessed the events early that morning and
saw Jesus Christ personally later that day.
Not surprisingly, He gives us additional vital information that
establishes once and for all the time of the resurrection.
"On the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb
early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from
the tomb. Then she ran and came to
Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them,
'They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they
have laid Him.'
Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. So they ran together, and the other disciple
outran Peter and came to the tomb first.
And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there;
yet he did not go in.
Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw
the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His
head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by
itself.
Then the other disciple, who came
to the tomb first, went in also; and saw and believed. For as yet they did not know the Scripture,
that He must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again to
their homes. But Mary stood outside by
the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the
tomb. And she saw two angels in white
sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had
lain.
Then they said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping?' She said to them,
'Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid
Him.' Now when she had said this, she
turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was
Jesus. Jesus said to her, 'Woman, why
are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?' She, supposing Him to be the gardener,
said to Him, 'Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid
Him, and I will take Him away.'
Jesus said to her, 'Mary!' She turned and said to Him, 'Rabboni!' (which is to say, Teacher).
Jesus said to her, 'Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to
my Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, I am ascending to My Father
and Your Father, and to My God and your God.’
Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord,
and that He had spoken these things to her.
Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the
doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus
came and stood in the midst, and said to them, 'Peace be with you.’
Now when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then
the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
Then Jesus said to them again, 'Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send
you.'" (John 20:1-21).
The earthquake described by Matthew, but not
mentioned here, must have occurred before the women went and told the Apostles
that Jesus' body was not in the tomb. They came back with the Apostles, and
looked in the tomb again, then all returned home except Mary Magdalene. She remained at the tomb, weeping and
wondering what had happened to Jesus' body. She looked again inside the tomb
and, as she did, the angels told her that Jesus was no longer there because He
was risen. Still dazed from weeping and
from all these events, which she did not understand, she turned around and saw
another person standing there. Now,
notice carefully the discussion that followed, for it contains the key to
understanding the time of Jesus' resurrection. Jesus asked her:
“‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?' She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said
to Him, 'Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him,
and I will take Him away.' Jesus said to
her, 'Mary!' At that time her eyes were
opened and recognising Jesus, exclaimed 'Teacher!'"
As she wanted to
take hold of Him, Jesus said: "Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet
ascended to My Father." How long
did it take Jesus to ascend to the Father and return? Here is the answer:
"Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week,
when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the
Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, 'Peace be with you.’
Now when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then
the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
Then Jesus said to them again, 'Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me,
I also send you.'"
It
took Jesus less than twelve hours to ascend to heaven, present Himself to the
Father, and return to show Himself to the disciples. If He had been resurrected the previous day,
why did He not go to heaven and return when He had enough time to do so? And if He was resurrected the previous day
and did not go to heaven, where did He spend that night, in the garden around a
campfire chatting with His angels?
After the trauma of the crucifixion, would the Father have resurrected
Him and left Him in suspense until the next morning only to show Himself to
Mary Magdalene and ask her to pass on a message to His Apostles? The angels
could have delivered that message just as well.
But a few extra hours in the tomb made no difference to Him; He was not
aware of the passage of time. The
conclusion is inevitable: not only do the Gospels not support the idea of a
Saturday resurrection, they make it very clear that it occurred on Sunday
morning. In this regard, traditional Christians are right and the Churches of
God wrong.
Now
let us find the truth about the crucifixion?
As with the resurrection, we have four accounts of
the crucifixion. Again, the slight
differences between them are our guarantee that these are not contrived
fabrications. The Gospel of Matthew gives us this account:
"Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two
disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the village opposite you, and immediately
you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. And if anyone
says anything to you, you shall say, “The Lord has need of them,” and
immediately he will send them.’ All
this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet
saying: ‘Tell the daughter of
So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought the
donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. And a very great multitude spread their
garments on the road. Then the multitudes
who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: ‘Hosanna to the Son
of David! “Blessed is He who comes in
the name of the Lord!” Hosanna in the highest!’ And when He had come into
Then Jesus went into the
The
day on which Jesus made His triumphant entry into
"Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, that
He said to His disciples, ‘You know that after two days is the Passover, and
the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.’" (Matt. 26:1-2).
Since
it was evening, we do not know whether He counted the two days from the Sabbath
or from the first day of the week. But,
in any case, that could only take us to Tuesday or Wednesday.
The Gospel of Mark gives us a few additional
details about His entry into
“And Jesus went into
Now the next day, when they had come from
Then He taught, saying to them, ‘Is it not written, “My house shall be
called a house of prayer for all nations?
But you have made it a den of thieves.”’
And the scribes and the
chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared
Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching. And when evening
had come, He went out of the city... Then they came again to
Mark says that
Jesus arrived in
Later
that evening, Jesus once again returned to
Saturday morning He went to Jerusalem, entered the temple and spent the
day preaching, debating with the Pharisees and instructing His disciples. This does not tell us when He was crucified,
but the Gospel of John once again gives us additional information which
resolves the question of the time of the crucifixion, as it did with the
resurrection:
"Then six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where
Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had risen from
the dead... The next day a great
multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to
Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:
"Hosanna! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of
the Lord!' The King of Israel!
Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is
written: ‘Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, sitting on a
donkey's colt.’” (John 12:1, 12-15).
If
Jesus came to Bethany six days before the Passover, and that day was a Thursday,
counting six days from then takes us to Wednesday. That the crucifixion
occurred on Wednesday is also confirmed by the prophet Daniel.
"And after the sixty two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not
for Himself...Then He shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in
the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering." (Dan.9:26a-27).
Jesus
Christ was "cut off" (crucified) in the middle of the week and with
that the Old Testament sacrificial offerings came to an end. There is yet further proof that the crucifixion occurred on Wednesday
afternoon. The Worldwide Church of God
published another booklet entitled The
Crucifixion Was Not on Friday, which says that there were two Sabbaths
during the time Jesus was in the grave.
"Jesus arose from the
dead late Saturday afternoon-He was not at the sepulchre
Sunday morning. Three days before Saturday afternoon would place the
crucifixion on Wednesday, the preparation day for the Feast of Unleavened
Bread. Thursday of that year must have been an annual Sabbath, the first annual
Sabbath in the Days of Unleavened Bread.
So that we would know that the Sabbath that followed the crucifixion was
not necessarily the weekly Sabbath, John was inspired to call it a "high
day" (John 19:31), which according to Jewish usage, means an annual
Sabbath that may occur any day of the week." (pp.4-5).
Ignoring
their ramblings about Saturday afternoon resurrection, the point they make
about the "high day" Sabbath following the crucifixion is a valid
one. It deserves further investigation.
In the Old Testament, in addition to the weekly
Sabbath, all Holy Days are also called Sabbaths - annual Sabbaths. The Gospel
of John identifies two Sabbaths during the time Jesus was in the tomb, one
annual and one weekly:
"Therefore, because it was the Preparation day, that the bodies
should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high
day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might
be taken away. [By braking their legs, they would no longer be able to support
their bodies, their muscles would collapse, and they would die quickly by
suffocation].
Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other
who was crucified with Him. But when
they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His
legs [unlike the others, Jesus Christ suffered heavily during the previous
night at the hands of the Roman soldiers; that's why He died before the two
thieves].
...Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen
with spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where He was crucified there
was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So
there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews' Preparation Day, for the tomb was
nearby." (John 19:31-33, 40-41).
The Sabbath
mentioned here was a "high day" - an annual Sabbath. Now notice the weekly Sabbath:
"On the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb
early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from
the tomb." (John 20:1).
The first day of
the week follows the weekly Sabbath. This makes two Sabbaths during the time
Jesus was in the tomb. One immediately
after the crucifixion, and another just before His resurrection. The question is, on what day of the week did
the annual Sabbath fall? There are two possibilities: Friday or Thursday. In
Mark 16:1 we read this:
"Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of
James, and Salome bought spices, that they might anoint Him."
Comparing this
passage with the following one from Luke, it becomes apparent that there was
one working day between the two Sabbaths.
"That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near. And the women who had come with Him from
Galilee followed after, and observed the tomb and how His body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and
fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.
Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and
certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they
had prepared." (Luke 23:54-56; 24:1).
In one case, the women
bought spices after the Sabbath, and in the other, they rested on the
Sabbath. Then they came to the tomb in
the first day of the week with the spices already prepared. By combining the accounts in the two Gospels,
we get the following picture:
“That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near. And the women who had come with Him from
Galilee followed after, and observed the tomb and how His body was laid."
(Luke 23:54-55).
“Now when the Sabbath was
past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that
they might anoint Him." (Mark 16:1).
“Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to
the commandment. Now on the first day of
the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them,
came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared." (Luke
23:56; 24:1).
The
working day between the two Sabbaths could only have been a Friday. That would make
Thursday the annual Sabbath and Wednesday the day of the crucifixion.
The
Gospels confirm that Jesus Christ was sacrificed in the middle of the week. In
other words, in the year of His crucifixion the Passover fell on Wednesday, not
Friday. This means that Jesus Christ was in the grave neither exactly three
days and three nights as the Churches of God preach, nor half that time as
traditional Christians believe. He was in the "heart of the earth" a
little over three days and three nights.
THE PROBLEMS WITH THE
GOSPEL OF LUKE
Except for a few brief references, we omitted the
Gospel of Luke from our analysis for a very important reason: this Gospel
presents certain problems.
"On that very day [the Sabbath in which Jesus had the conflict with
the Pharisees] some Pharisees came, saying to Him, ‘Get out and depart from
here, for Herod wants to kill you.’ And
He said to them, ‘Go, tell that fox, “Behold, I cast out demons and perform
cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.” Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow,
and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of
Jerusalem.’” (Luke 13:31-33).
Here, Jesus made a play on
words. In one place, He said, “I cast
out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be
perfected", and in the next, He said, "I must journey today,
tomorrow, and the day following".
Obviously, He could not have journeyed and been "perfected"
(crucified) on the same day.
He journeyed on
Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. On Tuesday evening, after He had His Passover meal
with His disciples, He was arrested and tried before the Sanhedrin. Wednesday
morning he was tried by Pontius Pilate, and in the afternoon He was crucified.
Was
Jesus "perfected" after two or three days? His words seem to indicate that you can take
it either way. He was arrested after two days, but was crucified after three.
According
to the Old Testament, the day before the Feast of Unleavened Bread is the
Preparation day. In the evening of that day, at twilight, the people of Israel
sacrificed and ate the Passover lamb (Ex.12:1-11). But by the time of Jesus Christ, it is clear
that the Jews were observing two Preparation days. This is not surprising,
since this gave them an extra day to thoroughly cleanse their homes of leavened
bread and prepare for the big Feast. Jesus Christ and His disciples confirmed
this when they referred to both Tuesday and Wednesday as Preparation and
Passover days. Now notice what the Gospel of Mark says:
“After two days it was the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened
Bread. And the chief priests and the
scribes sought how they might take Him by trickery and put Him to
death..." (Mark 14:1).
Two days after the
Sabbath is a Tuesday. But in Matthew 26:17
we read:
"Now on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread the
disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, 'Where do you want us to prepare for
You to eat the Passover?"
That
evening Jesus had His Last Supper with His disciples. That was not the first proper day of the
Feast of Unleavened Bread because the lamb was normally sacrificed the
following evening. But Jesus had no
choice but to “eat the Passover" with His disciples a day earlier because the
next day He became the sacrificial lamb for the whole world. That is why He regarded both Tuesday and
Wednesday as Passover days, and why He wants us to understand the need for
certain flexibility in discussing those events.
He
experienced the agony of sacrifice on both days. During the Last Supper, He broke bread and
shared the cup of wine with His disciples and told them that they represented
the breaking of His body and shedding of His blood. Later that evening, in the garden of
Gethsemane, He said:
"My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch. He went a little farther, and fell on the
ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him. And He said, ‘Abba, Father, all things are
possible for You. Take this cup away
from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You
will.’” (Mark 14:34).
Many
people know that the expectation of an event can be as painful as the event
itself. That certainly was the case with
Jesus Christ that evening. Getting the
mind to accept that He was going to die was a painful experience, particularly
as He knew that He had done nothing to deserve it. Yet, He could not allow any feeling of
bitterness or hatred towards those who tormented and crucified Him, for He
taught His own followers to love their enemies. Therefore He could not allow
Himself to fail in this very point. As
He looked down from the cross at those who crucified Him, who were mocking and
tormenting Him, He prayed: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know
what they do." (Luke 23:34).
Clearly, a close analysis of the Gospels reveals
that Jesus Christ was crucified Wednesday afternoon and rose from the grave
Sunday morning. But certain sections in
the Gospel of Luke appear to invalidate this conclusion.
In
the afternoon of the first day of the week - Sunday afternoon - two of the
disciples were travelling to a village called Emmaus, about eleven kilometres
(seven miles) from Jerusalem. On their
journey, they were talking about the things that happened in Jerusalem that
weekend. As they were walking, Jesus
approached them in disguise and spoke to them.
‘And He said to them, "What
kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are
sad?" Then one whose name was Cleopas answered
and said to Him,
"Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not
known the things which happened there in these days?" And He said to them, "What things?"
And they said to Him, "The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a
Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the
chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and
crucified Him. But we were hoping that
it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things
happened."‘ (Luke 24:17-21).
When
the expression, "the third day" is used in the Gospels, it describes
a future event. Jesus Christ Himself did not differentiate between the
expressions: "He will rise the third day" and "after three days
rise again." Luke, however, uses
the expression "today is the third day since these things happened"
about twelve hours after the resurrection occurred and that takes it beyond the
time scale used by the other Gospels. No
matter how flexible, one cannot say that Sunday evening is the third day from
Wednesday evening. Thursday evening is the first day, Friday the second day,
Saturday the third, and Sunday evening is unmistakably the fourth day.
The
other Gospel writers could say that they did not know the exact time the
resurrection would occur - whenever they used the expressions, "the third
day" or "after three days" it was always as a future event. Luke however, could not use that excuse
because by Sunday night at least half a day had passed since the resurrection
had occurred. Either he had difficulty
understanding the Jewish reckoning of time or he had something else in
mind.
This
may come as a surprise to many, but Luke, alone of all the Gospel writers,
shows no awareness of Wednesday crucifixion.
Luke believed that the crucifixion occurred on Friday afternoon. That is
why he said that Sunday evening was "the third day since these things
happened".
Was he aware that
he was halving the time Jesus was in the grave? He certainly was! That is why
he gave us the examples of Jesus' flexibility in discussing His
crucifixion. He was conditioning us to
accept the notion of three days and three nights in the tomb as a mere figure
of speech, not as a fact. Jesus Christ wanted us to be flexible in discussing
His crucifixion and resurrection, but not that flexible.
Luke went further
than that. He expressed the sign of
Jesus' Messiahship in terms that would correspond
with his beliefs. This becomes apparent
when comparing his Gospel with that of Matthew:
“Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, ‘Teacher, we
want to see a sign from You.’ But He
answered and said to them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a
sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet
Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and
three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three
days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
‘The men of Nineveh will rise in the judgment and condemn it, because they
repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is
here.’" (Matt.12:38-41).
Luke changed the
sign of Jonah from being three days and three nights in the belly of the fish,
to being a prophet to the Ninevites.
"And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to
say, ‘This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to
it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites,
so also the Son of Man will be to this generation... The men of Nineveh will rise up in judgment
with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of
Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.’" (Luke 11:27-30,32).
Why is Luke's
Gospel different from the others? The answer is simple. Luke knew nothing about the two Sabbaths
during the time Jesus Christ was in the tomb.
He knew that the crucifixion took place before the Sabbath and that His
resurrection occurred after the Sabbath, but did not know that one was an annual
Sabbath and the other a weekly Sabbath.
He assumed that the crucifixion occurred on Friday afternoon and the
resurrection Sunday morning. That
reduced the time Jesus was in the tomb by half.
Consequently, he did his best to steer us away from the sign of Jonah
and the belief that Jesus was three days and three nights in the tomb.
As a
Gentile, he was unfamiliar with the Jewish notion of the Sabbaths and their
reckoning of time. This is what the
producers of the New International Version of the Bible wrote as a foreword to
his Gospel:
"The Gospel of Luke has been called the most beautiful book ever
written [It may be beautifully written, but it is not the most accurate. The
Gospel of John deserves that accolade]. Luke's writing shows him to be a highly
educated man, one who wrote from a Greek background and viewpoint. He wrote
especially with Gentiles in mind, for he explained Jewish customs and traced
the genealogy of Jesus back to Adam."
He certainly
wrote for the Gentiles, but what appears to have happened by the time he wrote
his Gospel, is that the notion of ‘Friday crucifixion - Sunday resurrection’
was already beginning to be fixed in people’s minds. Why? Because the church was thrown out of the
synagogues, and was beginning to lose knowledge of its Jewish roots and
customs.
In his Gospel, he
related another event which is not found in any of the other Gospels. This also reflects a unique Gentile
thinking.
"Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying,
‘If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.’
But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying ‘Do you not even fear God,
seeing you are under the same condemnation?
And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but
this Man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, remember me
when You come into Your kingdom.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly, I say to
you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.’"
(Luke 23:39-43).
The
belief of going to Paradise immediately after death was common in the Graeco-Roman world, but not in the Jewish world. Luke's writings form the basis of the two
beliefs common to traditional Christianity today: ‘Friday crucifixion - Sunday
resurrection’, and going to heaven or to hell immediately after death. (If you
haven't read our article Immortality of the
soul and the Bible in which this topic is discussed
at length, send for your free copy).
Does
this mean that Luke's Gospel is not inspired and should be abandoned? Certainly not! It just means that people must make the
effort to discover the whole truth and understand the reasons and motivations
of each of the Gospel writers.
Even
so, many people might ask, why did God allow Luke to make mistakes in such
important matters? For just one reason:
God gave His enemies a rope by which they could hang themselves.
We have shown conclusively, that the truth of
God can be discovered independently by those who seek it, without the help of
scholars, theologians or ecclesiastical authorities. But it does require consistent prayer,
worship, meditation and Bible study. Those who think that they can "just
give their heart to the Lord" a-la Billy Graham type crusade, then go to
heaven when they die have a surprise coming their way.
God is testing every one of us to see if we have
the determination, patience, character and humility to be entrusted with
eternal life in His Kingdom. Jesus Christ warned that the road to salvation is
not an easy one:
"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the
way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is
the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." (Matt. 7:13-14).
Those who persevere
find the way, but those who turn back when the going gets tough are not given
to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of God.
“And the disciples came and said to Him,
‘Why do You speak to them in parables?’
He answered and said to them, ‘Because
it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to
them it has not been given. For whoever
has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does
not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
“Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see,
and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
“And in them the
prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not
understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; For the hearts of this
people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they
have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal
them.’ “But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears
for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men
desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and
did not hear it.’” (Matt 13:10-17).
The disciples remained faithful to Jesus through
all His trials (Luke 22:28), but others stumbled at His preaching and abandoned
Him (John 6:60-66). That is why their understanding was taken away from them.
God
says that the Bible has been written in such a way as to force people to make
the effort to discover the truth:
"Whom will he teach
knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn
from the breasts? “For precept must be
upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line. Here a
little, there a little... That they
might go and fall backward, and be broken and snared and caught” (Is.
28:9-10,13a).
In another place the
Scriptures say:
"It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings
is to search out a matter." (Pr. 25:2).
Who
are the kings whom God expects to cover themselves in glory by discovering His
secrets? Those of Britain, Arabia, Spain, Norway, or Ruritania? If
they have not been able to discover the simplest things in the Scriptures, such
as the words of blessings for their people, how would they ever discover the
hidden things of the Kingdom of God? We
have never heard Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II finish her address to her
people with a blessing.
In
case she decides to change her mind, and to save her time searching the Bible
(after all one does not expect the head of the Anglican Church to know
everything), this is where the blessings of God can be found:
"And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ‘Speak to Aaron and his sons,
saying,
“This is the way you shall
bless the children of Israel. Say to them:
‘The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make
His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you;’
‘The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace."'
So they shall put My name on the children of
Israel, and will bless them." (Nu. 6:22-27).
Similar
blessings can be found in the New Testament.
Every epistle begins and/or ends with a blessing.
If
the kings of this world are not in a position to discover the truth of God,
then who are the kings whom God expects to cover themselves in glory by
discovering His hidden things? Those who are being prepared to rule the world
under Christ when His Kingdom will be established. (Rev. 1:6;
At
present, they neither wear crowns nor are dressed in royal apparel. Rather, they are despised, poor, miserable,
and "clothed in sackcloth".
Nevertheless they know the truth of God and ‘the Way’ to His Kingdom and if you want to
be part of that Kingdom, you would be wise to seek God's truth from their lips.
THE CHRISTIAN HOLY DAYS
If Jesus Christ was not born at Christmas and was
not crucified on Friday, and the early church did not celebrate His
resurrection, what are the correct Christians Holy Days?
Whenever questions
of doctrine or Christian way of life arise, the answer must always be sought in
the Bible.
"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that
the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2Ti. 3:16).
The Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants,
Pentecostals and the Churches of God find themselves in a quandary over the
question of Holy Days because they have not used the Scriptures for
"reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness". Every Christian denomination has its own
excuses about to why it has not followed the Scriptures and observed the Holy
Days sanctioned by Jesus Christ and His Apostles. In some cases, there is disagreement within
the same denomination over the right Holy Days and the date of their
observance. For example, the Armenian
Apostolic Church observes Christmas on December 6th, the Greek and Romanian
Orthodox Churches on December 25, and the Slavic Orthodox Churches on January
7th. They worship a Lord who was
supposed to have been born on three different dates.
There is similar disagreement about Easter. This year, the Catholic, Protestant and
Pentecostal Churches celebrated it on April 3rd, the Orthodox Churches on May
1st, while the Churches of God observed neither Jesus' birthday nor His
resurrection. They celebrated instead the "Jewish" Holy Days. But this has not made them any more holy, for
there is an intense argument between them too over the manner and time of their
observance.
If
Christians cannot find common ground on these simple matters, how are they ever
going to agree on the weightier matters of the law and doctrine? The
differences between them are so great it is hard to understand how they can all
claim to serve the same God and Lord.
The causes of these disputes come from the fact that all churches have paid
only lip service to the teachings of the Bible. With the Churches of God, the
problem is aggravated by their failure to understand the differences between
the Old and New Testaments. While
traditional Christians have mistakenly ignored the Old Testament altogether,
the Churches of God have placed more emphasis on it than on the New
Testament. Both attitudes are wrong and
contrary to the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Apostles. While they all quoted extensively from the
Old Testament, they also made it clear that it is the New Testament that
matters now. The Apostles specifically
told their followers to follow their example, therefore we must find out from
them the correct Holy Days and their time and manner of observance.
"Now all these things happened to them [the people of
ancient Israel] as examples, and they were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come." (1 Cor. 10:11).
"But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly
and not according to the tradition which he received from us. For you yourselves ought to follow us, for we
were not disorderly among you." (2Th.
3:6-7).
"For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us,
leaving us an example, that we should follow His steps." (1Pe.
Let us begin with the Passover, the Holy Day
that has aroused the greatest controversy.
This is what Apostle John wrote: "Now the Passover, a feast of the
Jews, was near" (John 6:4).
Passover a feast of the Jews? Did he make a mistake? No, because he repeated that statement two
more times: "Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand" (John 2:13),
and, “And the Passover of the Jews was near" (John 11:55).
John
was the closest Apostle to Jesus Christ and the one whom Jesus loved the most
(John 13:23; 20:2; 21:7). We should,
therefore, be in no doubt that what he wrote was inspired by the Holy Spirit
and in accordance with the will of Jesus Christ. When he says that Passover
is a Holy Day of the Jews, the argument stops there.
Now
what did he have to say about the Feast of Tabernacles, the other great Old
Testament Holy Day? "Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand"
(John 7:2). The Feast of Tabernacles is also a "feast of the Jews."
And
the Sabbath, the day of rest and worship for many Christian denominations - the
Adventist and the Churches of God among them - is that a "feast of the
Jews" too? "After this there
was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem... And that day was the
Sabbath." (John 5:9).
No
mistake about it: the Passover, the Feast of Tabernacles and the Sabbaths, are
all "feasts of the Jews."
Since the Days of Unleavened Bread and the Pentecost are connected with
the Passover, and the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement are precursors
to the Feast of Tabernacles, they must also be regarded as "feasts of the
Jews."
The
Apostles said that you should never listen to anyone who is preaching a
different gospel:
"But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to
you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again,
if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him
be accursed" (Gal. 1:8-9).
What
did Apostle Paul mean that angels from heaven could preach a false gospel? Being from heaven is no guarantee that it is
a true gospel. The question is, how do
angels preach to us? The answer is, they preach through human beings. There are
many people who think that angels have spoken to them or that they have a
message from heaven, and they may well be right. What they do not know is that their message
is not necessarily true, but coming from lying spirits (1Kings
22:22).
Think
of David Koresh, the mad leader of the Branch Davidian cult from Waco, Texas, who took a few dozen people
with him to an infernal death. Or
Charles Manson from California who led a band of hippies in the late 1960’s in
an orgy of murders. They both believed that they had messages from heaven.
Texas and California, two well-known destinations for deceiving angels. Jim Jones came from California too, and so do a lot of other familiar
names.
Jesus Christ said that before His return many
will come in His name, preaching Him, yet deceiving many (Matt.24:23-24). How do people preach Christ yet deceive those
to whom they preach? By mixing truth
with falsehood. When Satan deceived Adam
and Eve, he did not come out directly against God's teaching. He began by planting doubt in their minds:
"Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the
garden'?" When Eve confirmed that
God has indeed said that, Satan replied, "You will not surely die. For God knows that in the
day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing
good and evil" (Gen. 3:1-5).
Similarly,
you will find many priests, ministers and preachers telling their followers
that the Scriptures do not really mean what they say - they need
interpretation. Naturally, they are the
ones to interpret the Scriptures.
Apostle Peter said:
"But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there
will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive
heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift
destruction" (2Peter 2:1).
How
do the false prophets deny the Lord who "bought them"? By denying that He exists, that He has a body
or an image, or by causing their followers to pray to intermediaries such as a
"saint", the "mother of Jesus", angels, etc. - all of which
are contrary to the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Apostles. Apostle John warned his followers not to
believe everything they hear:
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether
they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world"
(1John 4:1).
How
do you know a true prophet from a false one, a minister of Christ from one of
Satan? By comparing what they preach
with what is in the Bible. Be careful
tough not to pick on inadvertent mistakes and confuse these with false
preaching. Remember, the Jews accused
Jesus Christ of blasphemy because they did not understand His message. Why did
they not understand it? Because they did
not know the Scriptures.
Many
prophets and Apostles made mistakes too.
Some lost their lives because their message was thought to be a false
one. We made an error at the beginning of our work, and our enemies never let
us forget it. Those who should have
known better picked on that error and blinded themselves to everything else we
said since.
God
allowed all His servants to commit errors in order to teach them a lesson in
humility. Never assume that you are above reproach, never think that you know
everything and never underestimate your enemies. The irony, in our case, is that what at first
appeared to be an error, turned out to be true in the end. In 1990, before the outbreak of the Gulf War,
we predicted that conditions must be created in Israel for a visit by the Pope. That was before there was any talk in the
media about such a visit. We thought that the United Nations troops would play
a role in creating those conditions, but, as it turned out, the Israeli people
themselves are doing it. And yet, as
this issue is going to press, there is talk that a contingent of the United
Nations forces will be deployed to keep peace between the Israelis and the
Palestinians.
The difference between a true and a false
prophet is that the servants of God see their errors and repent of them,
whereas Satan's servants sink deeper into the mire even after their sins have
been exposed.
When people become obsessed over something, they
find it hard to change even when they are shown to be in error. A good example is the Holy Days. Few people seem to be concerned that
Christian denominations observe different Holy Days on different days and
dates. The matter is serious because it leads people to unwarily worship
demons.
"Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to wise men;
judge for yourselves what I say. The cup
of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of
Christ? The bread which we break, is it
not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many, are one bread and
one body; for we all partake of that bread.
Observe Israel after the flesh: Are not those who eat of the sacrifices
partakers of the altar? What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or
what is offered to idols is anything?
But I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to
demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with
demons. You cannot drink the cup of the
Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord's table
and of the table of demons" (1Cor.10:14-21).
Aside from his warning about falling into the
trap of unknowingly worshipping demons, Apostle Paul introduced two new
elements into the discussion about the Holy Days. He spoke of "Israel after the
flesh," implying that there is some other Israel, and of the bread which
we partake as part of the communion with Christ and the cup which we drink at
the Lord's table. The question about Israel will be discussed later, but the
point about the communion with Christ can only refer to the Passover. Was Apostle Paul telling his followers to observe
this "feast of the Jews"?
Indeed, this is what he told the Corinthian church:
"Your glorying is not good.
Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore
purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are
unleavened. For indeed Christ, our
Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old
leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened
bread of sincerity and truth." (1Cor.
5:6-8).
There can be no mistake that Apostle Paul told the
churches he established to observe the Passover feast. However, there is a host of difference
between the way the Christians and the "Israel after the flesh"
observe it. This is what Jesus Christ
told His disciples during the Last Supper:
"And when the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve Apostles
with Him. Then He said to them, 'With
fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;
for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the Kingdom
of God.' Then He took the cup, and gave
thanks, and said, 'Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you,
I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the Kingdom of God comes.'
"And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them,
saying, 'This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’' "Likewise He also took the cup
after supper, saying, 'This cup is the
new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.’” (Luke 22:14-20).
This
passage proves that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was connected with the
Passover. His followers were to observe
this Holy Day not with traditional Jewish sacrifices, but by breaking bread and
drinking wine - symbols which represent the breaking of Jesus' body and the
shedding of His blood. Without this
memorial service, our salvation would be in doubt because it is by this that we
show our acceptance of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins.
How
are we to know when this Holy Day is to be celebrated? We know it from the
Jews. It may surprise some Christians,
but even under the New Testament the Jews are entrusted with keeping God's
"oracles". (Rom. 3:2). What
about the other "feasts of the Jews," are they to be observed by the
Christians? This revolves around the question of who is a Jew.
"For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is that circumcision
which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and
circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, and not in letter; whose
praise is not from men but from God." (
"But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel
who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of
Abraham; but, ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called’. That is, those who are the children of the
flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of promise are
counted as seed." (
"Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of
Abraham. And the Scriptures, foreseeing
that God would justify the nations by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham
beforehand, saying, ‘In you all the nations shall be blessed." So then
those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.’
"For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as
many of you as were baptised into Christ have put on Christ. And if you are Christ's, then you are
Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." (Gal. 3:7-9, 26-27,
29).
Under the New
Testament, those who are born of the flesh are not Jews, but those who are born
of faith are. Jesus Christ never called
His followers Christians; He called them Jews. In His message to the Church of
Smyrna He said:
"I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich);
and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a
synagogue of Satan."
And to the Church
of Philadelphia, He said:
"I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no
one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have
not denied My name. Indeed I will make
those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews
and are not, but lie - indeed I will make them come and worship before your
feet, and to know that I have loved you." (Rev. 2:9; 3:8-9).
Therefore,
if you are a Jew - a spiritual Jew - you must observe the "feasts of the
Jews." If you are not a Jew, you
can observe the Catholic, the Hindu, the Islamic or any feast you wish - it no
longer makes any difference what feasts you keep. You may even decide to create
your own feasts. You can make your
birthday the main feast, and the birthdays of your wife and children minor
feasts. And if this is not enough, you
can honour your neighbours with feasts on their birthdays. They may well think
you are mad, but don’t let that deter you. Think of your grandchildren and the
pride with which they would celebrate these feasts. When asked why they
celebrate them, they will answer that they are celebrating the feasts
established by their great, great, grandfather.
Little would they know that these feasts have nothing to do with their
grandfather being great and more with being drank, but what people don't know
it does not hurt them, does it?
“Wait
a minute’, you may say, ‘you can't just set up feasts on your birthdays like
that?”
“Well,
why not? The Catholics did it and got away with it!”
“But
the Catholics celebrate Jesus' birthday, not just any birthday!”
“Herein
lies the problem. What the Catholics
celebrate has nothing to do with Jesus' birthday, as we have, hopefully, amply
proven in the previous article.”
What
we need to find out now, is what the Apostles celebrated in their time, and
what Holy Days will be observed during the coming Millennial Kingdom? As usual, we shall seek the answer in the
Bible.
We
have established that both Jesus Christ and the Apostles sanctioned the
Passover. Apostle Paul admonished the
Corinthians for celebrating this feast in an unworthy manner. They were told to
celebrate it "with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth,"
things which were never mentioned in connection with the Old Testament
celebrations. We must do this with a
pure heart and a clear conscience, otherwise we profane this most holy of feasts
and this is an unpardonable sin.
The
Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and Pentecostal Churches have developed a new
theology about the Passover celebrations and used it as justification for
changing its date and day of observance.
They say that since Jesus Christ was risen on Sunday, and the New
Testament speaks of the Lord's Day (Rev.1:10), and of
another day of rest for the people of God (Heb.4:1-10),
it means that Christians should now observe Easter and keep Sunday as a day of
rest instead of Saturday.
What
is lost in this debate is what these celebrations represent. When Easter
replaced Passover, the resurrection became the main focus of Christian
celebrations rather than the crucifixion. Ask any of the more than a billion
traditional Christians what they celebrate at Easter and few, if any, will tell
you that it is the crucifixion. Passover
cannot be celebrated on Sundays or on Friday nights, but on the day on which
the Jews celebrate it, and in the manner Jesus and the Apostles commanded.
Which
are the other Holy Days Christians must observe then?
Apostle
John declared all Old Testament Holy Days to be "feasts of the
Jews." He also mentioned the Feast
of Dedication, a Holy Day that is not found in the Old Testament. "Now it
was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter" (John 10:22).
What is unusual about this feast is that, unlike the others, he does not say
that this is a "feast of the Jews."
Why
do the Jews celebrate it then? This should be obvious. Those who celebrate it
are not Jews. We cannot overemphasise the fact that from the New Testament's
point of view, those who are born of the flesh are not Jews, but those who are
born of the spirit are. This very
omission is telling us the difference between the Jews according to the flesh
and those according to the spirit.
There
is a book entitled, The Comprehensive
Hebrew Calendar - twentieth to twenty second century, by Arthur Spiel (Fieldheim Publishers, Jerusalem/New York, 1986), a
brilliant work of scholarship, which presents a comparative Roman and Jewish
calendar with all the information needed about the Jewish Holy Days and their
date of observance. In this book, you
will find twice as many Holy Days as there are in the Old Testament. That is because the Jews have added memorable
historical events to God’s Holy Days.
There is nothing wrong with that, it is not a sin for them to do so, but
we are under no obligation to observe these added Holy Days. We only need to
observe the original Holy Days given by God to Moses.
"And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak unto the children of
Israel, saying, Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me
and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord that
sanctifies you.
You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you... It is a
sign between Me and the children of
Did the Apostles
observe the Sabbath as a day of worship? They certainly did it! (Acts 13:14,42,44; 16:13; 17:2; 18:4). Does Jesus Christ expect to find
His followers observing it as a day of rest and worship when He returns?
"Therefore when you see the 'abomination
of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy
place" (whoever reads, let him understand) then let those who are in Judea
flee to the mountains... And pray that
your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath." (Matt. 24:15-16, 20).
The
reason their flight should not be in winter is because it is cold, and not on
the Sabbath because that is a Holy Day and they are not allowed to carry heavy
burdens on this day.
Other
Holy Days given by God to Moses are the Feasts of Unleavened Bread and the
Pentecost:
"And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath
[the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is a "High
Day" or annual Sabbath], from the day that you brought the sheaf of the
wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be completed. Count fifty days to the day after the seventh
Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord." (Lev. 23:15-16).
We already saw that
the Apostles kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread in conjunction with the Passover. Regarding Pentecost, it is on this Holy Day
that they received the Holy Spirit.
"Now when the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with
one accord in one place. And suddenly
there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the
whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided
tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."
(Acts 2:1-4).
What would have happened if instead of celebrating
this feast, the Apostles were doing their own work? They would not have received the Holy
Spirit. After that event, the Holy Spirit
arrived whenever people repented, prayed, worshipped God and were baptised in the name of Jesus Christ. Continued God to Moses:
"Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year; You shall
keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days,
as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib,
for in it you came out of Egypt; none shall appear before Me empty); and the
Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labours
which you have sown in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering, which is at the
end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labours from the
field. Three times in the year all your
males shall appear before the Lord God." (Ex.23:14-17).
A
question that arises from the writings of Apostle Paul, is whether Christians need
to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread by eating unleavened bread during the
seven days of this feast. Remember,
Apostle Paul said that we should "keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor
with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of
sincerity and truth" (1Cor. 5:8).
While
it is true that this feast has a different meaning for Christians than is has
for the Jews, we cannot observe it by eating leavened bread because then it
would become the "feast of leavened bread." We do not need to follow
Jewish customs slavishly; both Jesus Christ and the Apostles told us to use
judgement and common sense in deciding such matters. If you cannot decide for
yourself, follow those whom you think are inspired by the Holy Spirit. You will
not sin if you follow wrong advice, but you will be held accountable if your
spiritual growth remains static. You are
expected to persevere in the study of the Bible until you discover the whole
truth and are at peace with yourself and with God on all biblical matters.
The Feast of
Harvest mentioned above is the Feast of Pentecost. No need to bring the firstfruits
of your labours before God. Spiritually speaking, we are God's firstfruits, that is why we must come before God with a
pure heart to offer prayer, worship, praise and honour on this day. The Feast of Ingathering is also called the
Feast of Tabernacles. This feast is not
mentioned as having been observed by the churches in the New Testament, but the
prophet Zechariah connected it with the Millennial Kingdom:
"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." (Zech.
14:16).
Zechariah
was describing the era just ahead of us.
During that time, Jesus Christ will rule the earth, together with the
people whom He will resurrect at His return (Rev. 5:10; 20:4-6). The
implication of this passage is that not many people will survive the great tribulation,
if all are expected to attend this feast in Jerusalem once a year. Towards the
end of the Millennium, when the people will multiply upon the earth again,
people will observe this feast wherever the churches will decide, and that may
not necessarily be Jerusalem.
The
Feasts of Trumpets and of Atonement, precursors to the Feast of Tabernacles,
must also be observed with holy convocations.
In addition, we are required to keep the Feast of Atonement by fasting.
These then are the "feasts of the
Jews" which those who are Jews ought to observe. However, we have not fully discussed how and
when the Passover should be observed. There is confusion among the Churches of
God about this Holy Day. They argue over the question of whether it should be
observed on the evening of the 14th of Nisan - the first lunar month - when
Jesus Christ had the Last Supper with His disciples, or on the afternoon of
that day when He was crucified. This is
resolved by answering the question: Do we commemorate the Last Supper or His
sacrifice?
Jesus
Christ told His disciples when He broke the bread, "This is My body which
is being broken for you. This do in remembrance of Me". What did He ask us to commemorate - His Last
Supper or the breaking of His body? Clearly, He wants us to remember the unique
sacrifice He performed on our behalf.
Therefore, we should commemorate the Passover on the afternoon of Nisan
14.
Apostle
Paul confirmed this: "when you come together in one place, it is not to
eat the Lord's Supper" (1Cor.
"For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and
one is hungry and another is drunk.
What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the
church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall
I praise you in this? I do not praise you.
For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that
the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when
He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘Take it; this is My body which is
broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same manner He also took the
cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do,
as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me. For as often as you eat this
bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes.’” (1Cor. 11:.21-26).
Read this passage again and take note in particular of the last verse.
What do we proclaim when we partake of the Passover bread and wine? The Lord's
death, not His Last Supper! There should
be a supper during which the people may symbolically break bread, sip a little
wine and have something light to eat. A sermonete emphasising the importance of the occasion should
be delivered or just plain reading of the Scriptures. Some appropriate hymns should also be
sung. The focus on this solemn occasion
must be on Jesus Christ and His sacrifice, not on anyone’s ability to deliver a
moving sermon.
A
curious custom has developed within many denominations about this Feast. When I was a member of the Worldwide Church
of God in the early 1970's, we used to stop in the middle of this service and
wash each other's feet. The ministers
told us that this was an example given by Jesus Christ, which we needed to
enact faithfully.
A
few years later, a television program broadcast from Rome showed the Pope
pouring water on the feet of twelve seminarians, wiping and kissing them. When this Pope does things, he does them in
style. We all know that He is keen on kissing.
He kisses children, airport tarmacs, his disciples' feet, but he does
not kiss the world leaders; they kiss his "blessed" ring instead.
Is
this what Jesus Christ meant by His example? That people should wash each
other's feet in the middle of the Passover memorial service, when there is no
need for such washing? Take note of this conversation between Him and Apostle
Peter:
“Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, are You washing my feet?’ Jesus
answered and said to him, ‘What I am
doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.’
Peter said to Him, ‘You shall
never wash my feet!’ Jesus answered
him, ‘If I do not wash you, you have no
part with Me.’
Simon Peter said to Him, ‘Lord,
not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!’ Jesus said to him, ‘He who is bathed needs only to wash his
feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.’'' (John 13:6-10).
Would
anyone dare to attend this solemn occasion with dirty feet, knowing that
someone else is going to wash them?
Since Jesus said that those who are clean do not need to be washed, this
exercise becomes a farce. When then are
we to wash each other's feet? In our
daily lives, whenever it is necessary.
In
talking about the widows who were to be considered for church help, Apostle
Paul wrote:
"Do not let a widow under sixty years old be taken into the number,
and not unless she has been the wife of one man, well reported for good works;
if she has brought up children, if she has lodged strangers, if she has washed
the saints' feet, if she has relieved the afflicted, if she has diligently
followed every good work."(ITi. 5:9-10).
We
live in a world in which such customs seem strange. In our modern society, with all the amenities
at our disposal, we have forgotten that for the whole of history people have
been washing each other's feet, relieving the afflicted and helping strangers.
I was fortunate enough to have grown up in a society in which such virtues were
still practised until the communists "modernised" everything.
We
used to live in an area which was half way between a high mountainous plateau
on the one side and a city on the other.
Many people, friends of the family and strangers, would make an
overnight stop at our place before continuing early the next morning to the
city. The stopover was essential particularly during cold and rainy weather.
I do
not recall my mother and grandmother washing their feet, but I do know that
they heated water for them to wash themselves and were offered something to eat
and drink.
My
parents received similar treatment when they travelled their way. It was a well-established social custom.
We can learn from these simple people how to
obey Jesus' command of washing each other's feet. This is what He meant by His
example, not that we engage in a useless exercise in the middle of the Passover
service.
Jesus
Christ and the Apostles have not only told us how and when to observe the
correct Holy Days, but also which holy days we must not observe. In the book of Revelation, Jesus Christ made
the following remark to the Churches of God in Ephesus and Pergamos:
“But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans,
which I also hate.”
“Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.” (Rev 2:6,15).
Who
are the Nicolaitans and what doctrine do they hold
that Jesus Christ hates? The word "Nicolaitans"
comes from Nicolas: St Nicolas, Santa Claus, Christmas. Jesus Christ hates the celebrations
associated with Christmas because they are a farce! He was not born at Christmas, and this holy
day is not sanctioned in the Bible.
What
about Easter - is there anything wrong with celebrating Jesus' resurrection?
Aside from the fact that, like Christmas, Easter is not sanctioned in the
Bible, there is nothing wrong with celebrating Jesus' resurrection. But you cannot celebrate it at Easter because
from the beginning this has been associated with the sun-god and fertility
symbols which have nothing to do with Jesus Christ.
If you want to celebrate Jesus resurrection, you
count three and a half days from the Passover memorial service and celebrate
it. Why three and a half instead of three days? Because that is how long Jesus
was in the grave.
Revelation 11:9 tells us
that the bodies of the two witnesses of God will lie dead for three and a half
days. There is no other reason why this length of time should be mentioned
except to connect it with the death of Jesus Christ. The two lengths of time
put together make exactly one week - a significant biblical mark.
If
you decide to celebrate Jesus' resurrection, you cannot do it like the Nicolaitans. You can
celebrate it with a nice feast, joyous hymns and readings from the Bible, but
none of the paraphernalia associated with nature regeneration or worship of the
sun.
Enjoy your feasts!
THE BEASTS OF REVELATION
"Surely the Lord God
does nothing, unless He reveals
His secret to His servants
the prophets." (Amos 3:7).
On December 25,
1991, the Soviet Union was signed out of existence by its leader Michail Gorbachov. Boris Yeltsin became the tsar of the new
Commonwealth of Independent States formed from eleven of the fifteen republics
which made up the former Soviet Union.
The
collapse of the Soviet Empire was precipitated by its failure to deliver the
much-heralded egalitarian classless communist utopia, and by the astonishing
economic and social backwardness in which it kept its subject peoples.
The world media spoke excitingly about the end
of the Cold War, the end of superpower rivalry and the beginning of a new era
of "peace, prosperity and happiness."
Less than three years later, the world is beginning to realise that the
Soviet Empire did no so much collapse as transform, that the ideological drive
which motivated the former Soviet Union has been replaced by nationalistic
fervour and old Russian imperial ambitions.
The sound of sabre rattling is being heard once again from young Russian
generals and politicians who find it hard to cope with the humiliating
dismantling of the Soviet Empire without a bullet being fired.
In
our No 2, (1992), edition, we revealed that the ten-headed beast-power of the
end time, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, will rise out of the territories of
the former Soviet Union. That prediction
was so contrary to what the Churches of God have been preaching,
that Garner Ted Armstrong - one of their long time serving prophets and leader
- felt the need to go on the offensive.
In a series of articles in his church newspaper, he boasted of how his
father and himself have been predicting, since the end of the Second World War,
that the end time "beast" will be formed by a group of ten nations
led by Germany, and that there will never be a war between the USA and Russia
because "no prophecy speaks about such a war."
His
understanding of biblical prophecies is no-where better illustrated than in his
article, "The Missing Key to the Book of Revelation" (The International
News, June, 1991). Here is a quote:
"Therefore, Revelation 1:10 is one of the most vital keys to our
understanding of the book, for it tells us how John was projected forward in
time, as if in the proverbial "time warp" of science fiction, to see
and hear many of the mind-boggling events to take place in the end
time."
What does
Revelation 1:10 say that makes it such a "vital key"?
"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a
loud voice, as of a trumpet."
This,
according to G. T. Armstrong, is "one of the most vital keys" to the
book of Revelation. We would like to
have known what the other "vital keys" are, but he kept these to
himself.
The late Herbert W. Armstrong, father of G. T.
Armstrong and former leader and "apostle" of the Worldwide Church of
God, also "unveiled" the book of Revelation. He wrote the booklet, "The Book of
Revelation Unveiled at Last" which is now being distributed by the
Worldwide Church of God in an edited version under the title, "Inside the
Book of Revelation." We would like
to hear from anyone who has managed to unlock a single prophecy as a result of
reading the writings of the two Armstrongs. They restate what is in the book of
Revelation without any attempt to unveil what its symbols represent.
There
is no such a thing as a key to the book of Revelation. No magic wand, no secret formula, by which
one may unlock any of its mysteries and prophecies. Such a talk is more akin to occultism than to
Christianity. The only way one may understand this book, or any other book of
the Bible, is by hard work, study, meditation, prayer, and worship.
The
Bible talks about the "key of the house of David" (Isa.
Now, what did Jesus Christ have that gave Him
the key to all these things? The HOLY SPIRIT!
This is the "key to the Kingdom of God", the "key of
knowledge", the "key of the house of David", and the "key
of hell and death"! This is the key
that gives one understanding to the mysteries and prophecies of the Bible! This
is also the key Jesus Christ promised to those who follow Him and keep His
commandments.
"If you love Me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father,
and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever, even
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." (John 14:15-17).
"Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the
city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high." (Lu. 24:49).
"Now when the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one
accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a
rushing mighty wind, and filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then
there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of
them. And they were all filled with the
Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them
utterance." (Acts 2:1-4).
This is the key that Jesus Christ received
from the Father, which He gave to His servants in ancient times and which He
still gives to those who follow Him now. If you have the Holy Spirit, you have
the key to the knowledge of God. This is how you get that knowledge:
"The fear of the Lord
is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction."
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge
of the Holy One is understanding."
"By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honour and
life." (Prov. 1:7;
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments.
His praise endures forever." (Ps. 111:10).
"And
to man He said, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart
from evil is understanding.’" (Job
28:28).
"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep
His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every
work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether it is good or whether
it is evil." (Eccl. 12:13-14).
How many preachers
have you heard telling their listeners to fear God? If not, how many have you heard telling them
to fear Satan? One of the publications of the Worldwide Church of God used to
say that Satan was hidden in our home ready to devour us. Enough to make one terrified to go home. Now compare this with what Jesus Christ
said:
"Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But
rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matt.
10:28).
Who
is "Him" whom peoples should fear? God, not Satan! But if you are a member of the Churches of
God, you do not need to fear God - He cannot destroy your soul because you have
no soul. They tell their followers that they have no soul, that their bodies
are their “living souls”. On the other
hand, if you are a member of the traditional churches (Catholic, Orthodox,
Protestant and Pentecostals), God cannot destroy your soul because you have an
"immortal" soul. That is why
the emphasis in all these churches is on fearing Satan not God. They have elevated Satan to equality with
God.
The
Bible tells us that Jesus Christ overcame Satan, and that now he is but an
instrument in God's hands. At the end of
this world, Satan will be destroyed in a great lake of fire together with his
demons and all sinful human beings.
Jesus
Christ said that by their fruits you shall know the true shepherds from the
false ones (Matt.
"A carnal, prideful of ego and vanity which wants its own way is
like a barrier to understanding, like blinders to the eye, like plugs to the
ear. God will not authorise would-be seers whose secret agendas include
covetousness for money, prestige, "recognition"; a following of believers. God's true ministry is not open to
carnal-minded opportunists. When one is not repentant toward God, but possessed
of the self-assuredness of vanity and covetousness, he may as well be deaf and
blind, so far as reading and understanding God's Word is concerned.
... Those who would attempt to exaggerate or minimise the book of
Revelation would receive of the horrifying plagues described within its pages.
Those who try to exploit people by pretending to understand the book of
Revelation-false prophets who make various predictions which are of their own
imagination concerning "Armageddon" and the like-are under a Divinely
- pronounced curse."
This
gives a good idea of what they preach in his church. "God will not
authorise would-be seers...” Does God give out licenses to
"authorise" people to preach?
The
Pharisees also felt that Jesus Christ was not "authorised" to preach
because He was not a graduate of their religious colleges. They asked Him:
"By what authority are You doing these things? Or who is he who gave You
this authority?" (Luke 20:2). By
that standard, obviously Garner Ted Armstrong would not think that Jesus Christ
is authorised to preach either if He were in the world today.
To God,
it makes no difference whether people are graduates of one college or
another. When He wants people to preach
His Gospel, He takes them from wherever they are and whatever they do, and
instructs them through His Holy Spirit.
Amos was a herdsman when God made him a prophet (Am. 1:1). David was a shepherd when God made him king
over
Garner
Ted Armstrong would not know about this because in his church, as in all
Churches of God, they preach that the Holy Spirit is an inanimate object. Any wonder that God has abandoned these
dreamers to their own devices. How would
you feel if people said that you are a lifeless object, would you respond to
their prayer and help them in times of need?
Jesus
Christ elevated the Holy Spirit to equality with Him and the Father:
"Go therefore and make
disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have
commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
(Matt. 28:19-20).
Elsewhere He said:
"Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy
against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of
Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it
will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come."
(Matt. 12:31-32).
One cannot commit
blasphemy against inanimate objects.
Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is blasphemy against the Father, for
the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father just like Jesus Christ did:
"But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the
Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of
Me. I came forth from the Father and
have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the
Father." (John
15:26; 16:28).
The
Holy Spirit and the Father are one just as Jesus Christ and the Father are one
(John 10:30; 17:11,21-24). But the hypocrites in the
Churches of God have failed to understand this relationship, just as they have
failed to understand most biblical doctrines and teachings. Anyone who believes
what they preach can have no other fate than their own, and it does not take a
genius to know what that will be.
G.T. Armstrong said: "God's true ministry is
not open to carnal-minded opportunists . . . whose secret agendas include
covetousness for money." We could
not agree more.
Who
are these covetous carnal-minded opportunists?
I was robbed of all my possessions and put in the street when I told his
ministers that tithing is not a law under the New Testament. Has he forgotten also who was expelled from
the church for carnal-minded sins?
Like
the Apostles of Jesus Christ, we preach the Gospel of God freely. The Churches of God, on the other hand,
shower you with "free" literature at first, then when you become a
member of their church they methodically and mercilessly ruin you with false
tithing doctrines and demands for offerings.
"Covetous
carnal-minded opportunists with secret agendas?" Who has congregational
meetings in secret and isolate their members from society and from
"unconverted" friends and family?
Jesus
Christ sent His followers into the world to be a light:
"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill
cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a
lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand,
and it gives light to all who are in the house.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works
and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matt.5:14-16).
"I have given them Your
word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I
am not of the world. I do not pray that
You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the
evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify
them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
“As You have sent Me into the world, I also sent them into the world.
And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the
truth.” (John 17:14-19).
The
leaders of the Churches of God have taken the followers of Christ out of the
world, brainwashed them and jealously kept guard over them. Not only are they not a light to the world,
they are a bad example. Try to have a
decent objective conversation with any of them, if you can discover their
hiding burrows, and you will see what we mean.
Those
who do not know the difference between what they teach in the present day
Churches of God and what the Apostles taught, should read last year's edition
of The Christian Herald,
particularly the article on “Tithing and the New Testament.” It is worth repeating here how we concluded
that edition.
"Jesus Christ spoke in general terms about the signs leading to
that event [His return], and we advise you to read the 24th chapter of the book
of Matthew for that. The only sure sign He gave as indicating the imminence of
those events, is the one about the "abomination of desolation"
standing in the holy place. That is the one discussed and revealed in the pages
of this magazine for the first time.
It is not a mere coincidence that God has revealed this mystery to us
now just prior to its fulfilment and so close to the conclusion of this age.
This is a sign that He is about to intervene in world affairs, to bring
humanity to account for its waywardness...
Anyone who goes to Jerusalem as Pontifex Maximus and
steps on the ground onto which Jesus Christ shed His blood, conscious of what
that gesture means, makes himself the "abomination of desolation." That sin will not be forgiven
him in this world nor in the world to come.
“For if we sin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the
truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful
expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the
adversaries.
Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony
of two or three witnesses. Of how much
worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has TRAMPLED
THE SON OF GOD UNDERFOOT, COUNTED THE BLOOD OF THE COVENANT BY WHICH HE WAS
SANCTIFIED A COMMON THING, AND INSULTED THE SPIRIT OF
GRACE?" (Heb. 10:26-29, emp. added).
"The same is true of the false prophet and the ministers in the
Churches of God. If they wilfully continue to deceive and fleece the followers
of Jesus Christ, ‘after they have received the knowledge of the truth, there no
longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of
judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.’
God does not make anyone an ‘abomination of desolation’ or a false
prophet; they make themselves as such.
It remains now to see who dares make himself one or the other. As of now, based on the power and
understanding that God Almighty has given us, and on the fact that these people
have done their work in ignorance, we declare that nobody is an abomination or
a false prophet. The purpose of this work is to correct, not to condemn. We accuse no one of anything. On the
contrary, we give them all the chance to repent and turn to the true God. You know now where to look and what to watch
for. Watch, therefore, and be ready, for the day of the Lord is at hand! Watch and sin no more!
“For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble
with salvation" (Ps.
149:4).
“A prudent man foosees evil and hides himself;
The simple pass on and are punished.” (Pr. 27:12)
When people sin and
commit evil, Christians are under obligation to forgive, but sinners must ask
that forgiveness in the first place.
After being robbed, I gave the ministers in the Churches of God the
chance to repent and turn from their evil, but they would not. No regret has been shown by any of
them. Jesus Christ told His followers:
"If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your
brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and
go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your
gift." (Matt. 5:23-24).
Christians no
longer bring their gifts to the altar, but when they pray they are before the
altar of God Almighty. This is what God says about the prayer of sinful people.
"Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that He cannot save; nor
His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from
your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not
hear. For your hands are defiled with
blood, and your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken lies, your tongue
has muttered perversity.
No one calls for justice, nor does any plead for truth. They trust in
empty words and speak lies; they conceive evil and bring forth iniquity. They
hatch vipers' eggs and weave the spider's web; he who eats of their eggs dies,
and from that which is crushed a viper breaks out.
Their webs will not become garments, nor will they cover themselves with
their works; their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in
their hands. Their feet run to evil, and
they make haste to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of
iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they have not known, and
there is no justice in their ways; they have made themselves crooked paths;
whoever takes that way shall not know peace." (Is. 59:1-8).
Is
there any wonder that the Bible speaks of a great falling away from the truth
of God before the return of Jesus Christ?
Does anyone have any doubt that the following Scriptures have been
fulfilled?
"Let no one deceive you by any means; for that day will not come
unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of
perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that
is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that
he is God." (2Thess. 2:3-4).
The
question of who the "man of sin" and the false prophet are was
discussed in last year's edition of The
Christian Herald. If you haven’t read
it, send for your free copy. What we
want to know now is how helpful Garner Ted's "vital key" has been in
solving the mysteries of the book of Revelation?
For
decades, the two Armstrongs have been venting their
fury on Germany for supposedly being the head of the end time ten-headed
"beast" which will plunge the world into great tribulation. Contrary to this prophecy, we revealed that
it will be Russia who will cause the end time devastation, not Germany. The
book of Revelation confirms our views.
First, here are some of the Scriptures on which we based our
predictions:
"Set up the standard toward Zion. Take refuge! Do not delay!
For I will
bring disaster from the north, and great destruction.” (Jer 4:6).
"O you children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee from the
midst of Jerusalem! Blow the trumpet in Tecoa, and set up a signal-fire in Beth Haccerem;
For disaster
appears from the north, and great destruction.” (Jer
6:1).
"Thus says the Lord: "Behold, a great people comes from the north country,
and a great nation will be raised from
the furthest parts of the earth.
They will hold bow and spear; they are cruel and have no mercy.” (Jer 6:22-23). .
"Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the
prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal,
and prophecy against him, and say, 'Thus says the Lord God: "Behold I am
against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. 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.
Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them, all of them with shield and
helmet; Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops-many people
are with you. Prepare yourself and be
ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard
for them. After many days you will be
visited. In the latter years you
will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from
many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were
brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely. You will ascend,
coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops
and many peoples with you.”
"Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog,
'Thus says the Lord God: "On that day when My
people Israel dwell safely, will you not know it? Then you will come from your place out of the far north, you and many
peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty
army. You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I
will bring you against My land, so that the nations
may know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before
their eyes.'' (Ezek 38: 1-9, 14-16). .
Many
biblical scholars believe that the words "Rosh", "Meshech' and "Tubal"
can be equated with Russia, Moscow and Tobolsk. The fact that these terms are associated with
the end time power emerging from the farthest parts of the earth in the north
lends credence to this interpretation.
Germany is neither to the north of Israel, nor in the furthest parts of
the earth.
Notice
why God said he will bring Gog against His people:
"so that the nations may know Me, when I am
hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes." God
used similar language in ancient times when He brought Israel out of
Egypt. He was then hallowed in the eyes
of the world by destroying the greatest power the world had known up to that
time.
“What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly
not! For He says to Moses, ‘I will have
mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I
will have compassion.’ So then it is
not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. For the
Scripture says to Pharaoh, ‘For this very
purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name
may be declared in all the earth.’ Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and
whom He wills He hardens.” (Rom 9:14-18).
"Therefore say to the children of Israel: I am the Lord; I will
bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from
their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great
judgments. I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that
I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the
Egyptians."
"So the Lord said to Moses; 'See, I have
made you as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet. You shall speak all that I command you. And Aaron your brother shall speak to Pharaoh, that he must send the children of Israel out of his
land. And I will harden Pharaoh's
heart, and multiply My signs and My wonders in the
land of Egypt. But Pharaoh will not heed
you, so that I may lay My hand on Egypt and bring My
armies and My people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great
judgments. And the Egyptians shall know
that I am the Lord, when I stretch out My hand on
Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them." (Ex. 6:6-7; 7:1-5).
Is
it a mere coincidence that Russia, in whose land flourished the satanic
anti-God communist ideology which terrified the world for seven decades, should
become the end time ten-headed beast-power in whose destruction God will be
hallowed in the eyes of the world? It is this power and its allies which
"will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is
Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen,
and faithful" (Rev. 17:14).
This
brings us to the book of Revelation. For
nearly two thousand years, this book has fascinated scholars and lay people
alike, but its symbols and prophecies have remained shrouded in mystery. Now, as this age draws to a close, the time
has arrived for this book to yield its mysteries. Our concern is with revealing the identity of
the beasts mentioned in chapters 12, 13 and 17. We begin with chapter 12.
“Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with
the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. Then being with child, she cried out in
labour and in pain to give birth.”
It is not difficult
to conclude that the woman with the garland of twelve stars is spiritual
Israel. The twelve stars represent the
twelve tribes of Israel. The Child is Jesus Christ; verses four and five
confirm this.
“And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon
having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads.”
The important thing
to bear in mind from this verse is that the seven heads and ten horns are
unmistakably associated with Satan, the dragon.
“His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the
earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to
devour her Child as soon as it was born. She bore a male Child who was to rule
all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His
throne.” (Rev. 12:1-5).
The rest of this
chapter describes how the dragon was cast out of heaven, how he became enraged
with the woman and made war with "the rest of her offspring, who keep the
commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Now, chapter thirteen.
“Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of
the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on
his heads a blasphemous name.”
That each beast
represents an empire will become obvious shortly. The theme of seven heads and
ten horns common to all beasts links these empires to the dragon who, as we
saw, also had seven heads and ten horns.
“Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the
feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his
power, his throne, and great authority.
And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his
deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled
and followed the beast. So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the
beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, ""Who is like the beast?
Who is able to make war with him?''
And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he
was given authority to continue for forty-two months. Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against
God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. It was granted to him to make war with the
saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe,
tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the
earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life
of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
If anyone has an ear, let him hear.
He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with
the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of
the saints.” (Rev 13:2-10).
This
chapter describes in prophetic language the appearance of a great Gentile
empire which received the power, the throne and the authority of Satan. This
empire is said to have been "given authority to continue for forty-two
months", to make war with the saints and overcome them. Which empire was that? Looking back in history, we know that the
empire which made war with the saints and overcame them was the Roman Empire.
In
our No 3, (1993) edition, we revealed that the fourth kingdom of Daniel's
chapter seven, which started as a "little horn" and grew to become
exceedingly powerful and conquered the holy land, was the Roman empire and its representative king - Pontifex Maximus.
It was
Pontifex Maximus who was regarded by Apostle Paul as the man of sin (2 Thess. 2:3-4). He
was the one who sat in the temple of God, assuming God's title of "Holy
Father". Now how do we explain the
forty-two months?
Those
who have tried to calculate this length of time have made one major error. They
have converted the forty-two months into days, then using the biblical
principle of a day for a year (Nu.
The
problem arises from not understanding the difference between days and months. A
month is less specific than a day, just as a day is less specific than an hour.
In the Bible, all these terms are used and each one must be treated
accordingly. When God says that this beastly kingdom will continue for
forty-two months, He is telling us that the empire will last approximately 1260
years, give or take a few years.
How
long did the Roman Empire last? The city of Rome is considered to have been
established in about 750 BC. Calculating 1260 years from that date, brings us to 510 AD That is the approximate time when
the Roman Empire came to an end. Some
history texts place the end of the Roman Empire at 476 AD when the emperor
Romulus Augustulus was deposed by Odoacer,
a German king of the invading "barbarians." If we accept that date as the official end of
the empire, it is still not far off the forty-two biblical months. The fact is, Odoacer did not bring an end to
the Roman Empire. When he took over the throne in Rome, he acknowledged the overlordship of Zeno, the Emperor who ruled from
Constantinople over the eastern part of the empire. Odoacer recognised
the superiority of Roman civilisation and wished to preserve it. That was
hardly the end of the empire.
Odoacer was eventually slain by Theodoric,
the adopted son of Zeno, who ruled Rome until 526 AD. During his reign, a
struggle for the throne developed which culminated in the final collapse of the
Western part of the Roman Empire.
Now
who is the seventh head whose mortal wound was healed, the "beast" "all the world
marvelled and followed"? None other than Pontifex Maximus. The beliefs
preached by the religion headed by this "king" - immortality of the
soul, going to heaven or hell immediately after death, worshipping of images,
sanctifying and worshipping the dead - have reached every corner of the earth.
When
was he mortally wounded and who are the other six heads? They are the first six
kings of Rome: Romulus, Numa Pompilius,
Tullus Hostilius, Tarquinius Priscus, Servius Tullius, and Tarquinius Superbus.
During
the reign of the last king, in 509 BC, the Roman monarchy received a mortal
blow. The Romans overturned their kings and instituted a republic. Henceforth,
they no longer had a king. At least that is what the history books will tell
you. The truth is different. The monarchy survived, its wound was healed, and
the Romans ended up not only with a king, but a "sacred" one at that
(for a detailed analysis of this topic see the article on Pontifex Maximus in
our No 3, 1993 edition).
Their
religious leader, Pontifex Maximus, consolidated his position by assuming the
titles, "King Sacrorum" (Sacred King) and "King
Sacrificulum" (King of sacrifices).
When
the Roman republic evolved into an empire, the emperors overshadowed the chief
Roman priests. But when the empire collapsed, the Popes, as they became known
by then, rose to undisputed prominence in the Western world.
"At the same time his pontificate [Simplicius,
468-483] saw the disappearance of the Western Roman Empire. The boy emperor
Romulus Augustulus was deposed in 476; no successor
to him was nominated; and when the barbarian patricius
("patrician") Odoacer, the real master of
Italy, sent the imperial insignia to Constantinople, the Eastern emperor seemed
to have become the sole rightful sovereign of the Roman world. This elimination
of the imperial power in the West served perforce to enhance the prestige of
the papacy throughout that half of the world, where it had began to emerge as
the focus of authority even since Constantine had left Rome for Constantinople.
"This development made the choice of every new pope a matter of
even greater importance than it had been in the past, when rivalries, conflicts
and even schisms calling for imperial intervention had sufficiently
demonstrated how much was at stake." (Encyclopaedia Britannica,
1970 ed., Vol.17, p.243, article under "Papacy -
the end of the Western Empire").
Revelation 13:11-12
says:
“Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two
horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.
And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence,
and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast,
whose deadly wound was healed.”
The
first "beast" was the old Roman Empire. The seven heads were the
seven kings. The head who was mortally wounded, whose
wound was healed and rose to world prominence, was the new monarch, Pontifex
Maximus.
But
who is the new "beast" with two horns? This is very simple. Who
succeeded the Roman Empire? The Holy Roman Empire! This empire was different in
that it was not a normal empire, but a religious one. The two horns are the two
great branches of apostate Christianity: the Eastern Orthodox Church and the
Western Catholic Church. The Protestant Churches and other splinter groups are
but daughters of their "harlot" mother. They have in common the same
diabolical beliefs and practices: immortality of the soul, worship of the Sun
god, the same pagan holy days, etc.
The
new Holy Roman Empire exercised the authority of the first "beast" by
claiming inheritance to the culture, religion, traditions and language of the
old Roman Empire. Have you wondered why
our major institutions (educational, social, business, etc.) express their
mottoes in Latin even though hardly anyone understands that language anymore?
In
the Bible, the words "king" and "kingdom" are often
interchangeable. The connection between the two empires is made by Pontifex
Maximus, who was a king of both empires. The Bible often refers to him as a
"beast."
Now
what of the signs mentioned in verses 13 and 14?
“He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from
heaven on the earth in the sight of men.
And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was
granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth
to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived.”
What
are that fire and the signs by which he deceives those who dwell on the earth?
When
I was a child, before the communists instituted their reign of terror, my
mother used to take me to the church to celebrate Easter at midnight. For me it
was not a very pleasant experience because in our church people had to stand
during the service. There were only a few seats, and they were usually reserved
for the elderly.
The service,
which lasted for about a couple of hours, seemed to last forever. Whenever
people kneeled for prayer, as they did every so often, I was always the first
one down and the last one up. I think my mother and the people around thought I
was a very religious boy when all I did was to maximise my time of rest.
At
midnight, the priest would go behind the wall separating the "most
holy" area from us and with all lights turned off would emerge with a
lighted candle. Everybody would chant "Christ is risen - truly is
risen". The light, which was then passed around to everyone to light their
own candles, was supposed to have come down from heaven. I don't know what
other people thought, but even as a child I suspected that a box of matches
probably did the trick.
That
is the fire by which those who dwell on the earth are deceived. It is a
deception, not a real thing. It is interesting that this "fire from
heaven" occurs at Easter, another deception by which the Roman
"beast" deceives the world.
What
of the other signs, what are they? You must have heard about the various
"miracles" occurring all over the world: an icon of "virgin
Mary” weeping oil in America; the curdled blood of a "saint"
liquefying twice a year in a church in Naples; visions of the "blessed Mary”
speaking to children at Fatima, Lourdes and elsewhere; relics of dead people in
churches in various parts of the world reviving temporarily, etc. Now verse 15 is an interesting one:
“He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the
image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the
image of the beast to be killed.”
Here
one beast gives power to the image of another beast to talk and to cause those
who do not worship the first beast to be killed. The beast that talks is the
head of the Holy Roman Empire, the image of the dragon, Pontifex Maximus - the
man who assumed God's title of "Holy Father." Remember, we are made in the image of God,
and if the His Holy Spirit is in us we are inspired by Him and become God’s
children. In like manner, the people who
allow the Devil to influence them take on his image and become his
children. Isn’t this what Jesus Christ
said?
“If God were your Father,
you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of
Myself, but He sent Me. Why do you not
understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word.
You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you
want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the
truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from
his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell the truth, you do not
believe Me.
Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not
believe Me?
He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because
you are not of God.” (John 8:42-47).
During
the Middle Ages, Pontifex Maximus decreed that all people in his dominions who
did not worship the images of the old Roman gods, which were adopted by the
Catholic Church, must be killed. Thousands of people lost their lives.
One
image in particular deserves mention. If
you compare the image of the Roman goddess Fortuna, the mascot of the old Roman
Empire, with that of Virgin Mary, you will be struck by their similarity. They
are both associated with fertility and nature regeneration. And to complete this chapter, here are
verses 16 – 18:
“He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to
receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may
buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number
of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who
has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a
man: His number is 666.”
The mark on the
forehead is the sign of Sunday. It is the belief that people must worship God
on the day of the Sun, instead of on the Sabbath. The Sabbath has been the sign
of God's people since the beginning of the world, a sign which was reaffirmed
at the Exodus with the people of Israel (Ex. 31:13). The Roman
"beast" changed that and imposed its own sign upon the world. What about the number 666?
"Ireneus, who was only one generation
removed from the apostle John, wrote (Thomas, 1889, p.367): "the name Lateinos [Latindom] contains the
number of 666; and it is very likely, because the last kingdom is so called,
for they are Latins who now reign". Irenaeus was referring to the numerical equivalent (letters
of the Greek alphabet having numerical values of... 666).
'Lateinos' is a highly appropriate word to
designate the beast empire founded by the papacy. Not only was the west of the
old empire regarded as Latin, while the east was referred to as Greek, but the
Roman pontiffs dropped the use of Greek, despite its being the language of the
New Testament, and made Latin the official tongue of the Church. The
'Christendom' of history is truly more accurately designated 'Latindom', making the identification of the Beast of the
Sea complete. It is of interest to note that the phrase 'the Latin kingdom' (He
Latine Basileia) also has a
numerical equivalent of 666." (Roger Stokes, "The Jews, Rome, and
Armageddon," Adelaide Hills Christadelphian
Ecclesia, 1987, p.161)
This brings us to
chapter seventeen. Here it is in its
totality:
“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked
with me, saying to me, ‘Come, I will show
you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the
kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were
made drunk with the wine of her fornication.’
So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a
woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having
seven heads and ten horns.
The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and
precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of
abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. And on her forehead a name was written:
MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF
THE EARTH.
I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood
of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled
with great amazement. But the angel said
to me, ‘Why did you marvel? I will tell
you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the
seven heads and the ten horns.
The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the
bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will
marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of
the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains
on which the woman sits.
There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has
not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. And the beast
that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is
going to perdition.
The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom
as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. These are of one mind, and they will give
their power and authority to the beast.
These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for
He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called,
chosen, and faithful.’
Then he said to me, ‘The waters
which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and
tongues. And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the
harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their
kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. And the woman whom you saw is that great city
which reigns over the kings of the earth.''
The mystery woman
with the name, "MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF
THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH" is the Roman Church and the denominations
which sprang from her. There is no need for us to go into further details on
this topic here. If there are still people who are not convinced of this fact,
nothing else will convince them. Instead, we will concentrate on the symbolical
"beasts" and on their heads and horns.
Verse
three tells us that this woman sits upon a scarlet coloured beast with seven
heads and ten horns. These symbols are familiar from chapter 12, except that
there is a difference. The seven heads of chapter 12 had crowns on them and
represented the seven kings of Rome. The seven heads of chapter 17 have no
crowns, but are said to be seven mountains on which the woman sits (v.9). What
city is built upon seven mountains or hills? The Encyclopaedia Britannica
provides the answer:
"ROME, capital city of the Italian Republic and
of the province of Rome. The seat of the Italian
government, it is one of the great cultural centres of the world and, as the
seat of pope (in the Vatican City), is also the administrative and spiritual
capital of the Roman Catholic Church. Rome is on the Tiber river
in central Italy... The
A well-known metaphor
says, "all roads lead to Rome." Now we discover that most of the biblical
"beasts" lead to Rome too. Whether they are crowns, hills or horns,
they identify Rome, the Roman empires and their King, Pontifex Maximus, as the
prophetic "beasts".
THE TEN HORNS
We have not discussed the ten horns until now
because we did not have enough information.
Chapter 13 says that Apostle John
"saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten
horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous
name." From this we can conclude
that the ten horns represent ten kings or leaders but who they are and in what
country they might arise we do not yet know.
In the past, we have
accepted the preaching of the Churches of God that these horns represent ten
revivals of the Roman empire, plus ten leaders who
shall rise in the countries of the European Community, one of them ruling over
Germany. As with so many of their
beliefs, there is no biblical justification for this one either, not the least
because their so-called revivals are quite arbitrarily set. They have allowed
their phobias and prejudices against Germany to cloud their understanding of
the Scriptures. Germany may have played an important role in the past, but her
future role, as far as the history of the people of God is concerned, is
minimal.
The prophecies of
Daniel reveal the kingdom in which these horns will rise:
"And the forth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron
breaks in pieces and shatters all things; and like iron that crushes, that
kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of
potter's clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the
strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with
ceramic clay. And as the toes of the
feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly
strong and partly fragile.
“As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed
of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with
clay. And in the days of these kings the
God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the
kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume
all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever." (Daniel 2:40-44).
The ten toes
represent ten kings that will rise in the end time in the fourth kingdom when
God will establish the Millennial Kingdom. In our No 3, (1993) edition of The Christian
Herald, we identified the fourth
kingdom as that of Rome. The Roman religious empire, which is in existence
today, extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the American continent
to much of Africa. God regards the Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and
Pentecostal Churches as belonging to this empire.
In what part of this
empire then will the ten kings arise? Since the end time disaster comes from
the north, and since the ten kings belong to the "beast" that will
fight Jesus Christ on His return, these kings could belong to none other than
the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Once again, Russia is identified as the leading power that will trigger
the end time great tribulation.
For a long time the
Russian Orthodox leaders have regarded Moscow as the third Rome. Compare this with what Pope John Paul II
declared in his 1994 Easter message:
"The cross must never be devalued. This is the cry of Rome, of
Moscow, of Constantinople and of all Christianity. During the procession, the Pope had for the
first time read prayers prepared by the head of the Greek Orthodox Church...
The prayers were written by Bartolomeus I, Archbishop
of Constantinople and head of the Greek Orthodox Church, at the invitation of
the Holy See, in the first ecumenical rite of its kind since the two churches
split in 1054...
The Pope's Holy Week ceremonies culminate today when he celebrates Mass
in St Peter's Square and delivers his twice-yearly "Urbi
et Orbi" (to the city and the world) blessing
and message." (The Sun-Herald,
April 3, 1994).
The
Pope addresses the world in his "Urbi et Orbi" speeches, because he regards himself as the
"Universal Shepherd". If there was any doubt that the Eastern
Orthodox Churches and the Catholic Church belong to the same camp - the same
"beast" - this should dispel it.
It is remarkable
that during the seven decades of Soviet rule, the leaders of the Russian
Orthodox Church never condemned the atrocities committed by the Soviet
regime. Whenever the Soviet Union was criticised in international forums for human rights
violations, the Russian Orthodox leaders defended the record of the Soviet
government. Now that the Russian people
are able to go to church freely and the churches are full of people again, they
pose themselves as champions of the people.
Any wonder that God regards them as "beasts".
Now
take a look at the following verses again:
"And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no
kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the
beast. These have one mind, and they
will give their power and authority to the beast. These will make war with the Lamb, and the
Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those
who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful" (Rev.17:12-14).
The
ten leaders will give their power and authority to the "beast" while
they receive authority for "one hour" to rule as kings. This means
that they will recognise the church's authority in moral and spiritual matters,
while they receive the church's blessings in enforcing their rule over the
people.
Why
will they make war with Jesus Christ - the Lamb - when He returns to this earth?
Because the Russian Orthodox leaders, as well as the Catholic and other
religious leaders, know that when Jesus Christ returns, their reign will
end. They know that the Christ we preach
is not the same as their christ, therefore they plan
to fight Him.
Ezekiel
said that in the latter days, a company of nations led by Rosh (Russia) would
come like a cloud against the people who were "brought back from the sword
and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel"? Now why would a
power like Russia use its military might against a tiny nation like Israel? Because Jesus Christ must return to the people who pierced Him -
His own people. If there is no nation of Israel, Jesus Christ cannot
return, or so His enemies would think.
The prophet Zechariah wrote:
"In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the
one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of
David shall be like God, like the Angel of the Lord before them.
It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that
come against Jerusalem. And I will pour
on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace
and supplication; then they will look upon Me whom
they have pierced; they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and
grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn." (Zech. 12:8-10).
Last
year, we concluded our No 3 edition with a call to repentance to all world
leaders, and a promise that if they stop deceiving and exploiting people in the
name of God their sins will be forgiven.
They refused to repent and turn from their evil ways even though
previously unveiled prophecies and mysteries were revealed as a sign of
inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Add to
that what is being revealed in this edition, and when will they realise that
what we said is coming true, they will make "war" with us too, and
will prepare to fight our Lord on His return.
For more than three
years, an invisible hand has been guiding us through the prophecies and mysteries
of the Bible which we revealed to the world.
We take no credit for these revelations, for we know that we are
unworthy of the work we do. As Jesus
Christ said:
"So like wise you, when you have done all those things which you are
commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty
to do.'" (Luke 17:10).
Jeremiah the
prophet wrote:
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who
can know it? I, the Lord, search the
heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, and
according to the fruit of his doings." (Jer.
17:9-10).
And Apostle Paul
said:
"For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I
see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing
me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver
me from this body of death? I thank
God-through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I serve the law of God,
but with the flesh the law of sin. There
is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not
walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and
death." (Rom. 7:22-25; 8:1-2).
If
the servants of God and of Jesus Christ have acknowledged that they were weak
and sinful people, and had problems controlling their own impulses (and we make
a similar confession), then so can those whom we have called to
repentance. Is it not infinitely better
to go before the people now and say, "we have made an error, we have
deceived you and led you on the wrong path," than to wait until the
judgment time when no repentance is possible?
If
you accept God's call to repentance and begin a life of righteousness even at
this late hour, Jesus Christ will grant you the "Promise" - the Holy
Spirit - and hope of eternal life in His Kingdom. You cannot postpone this decision. The time is fast approaching when repentance
is no longer possible:
"And he said
to me, ‘Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at
hand. He who is unjust, let him be
unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous,
let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.’ And behold, I am coming quickly, and My
reward is with Me, to give every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning
and the End, the First and the Last.’
Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right
to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city [of
God]." (Rev. 22:10-14).
Revelation 10:4-7
says:
“Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write;
but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, ‘Seal up the things which the
seven thunders uttered, and do not write them.’
And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up
his hand to heaven and swear by Him who lives forever and ever, who created
heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it,
and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no
longer, but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about
to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants
the prophets."
Just before the
sounding of the seventh angel, the mystery of God will be finished, meaning
that the prophecies of this book will be revealed. There is an interruption of
prophesies at that point, after which there follow the actions of the two
witnesses (Ch.11). The inference is that during their
time, these prophecies will be revealed. Only a deaf and blind person would not
realise that these prophecies are being fulfilled
right now.
The
Churches of God are still grappling with the four horsemen of chapter six, when
these prophecies have already been fulfilled.
We have the knowledge of the prophecies of the book of Revelation, but
are restricted by our limited abilities of how much we can reveal. We are giving you the knowledge of those
prophecies which are imminent or in the process of being fulfilled so that you
may repent and save yourselves from the impending great tribulation.
Revelation
16:17-21 picks up the story of the seventh angel. It says that when he shall
sound his trumpet, the great tribulation will be unleashed upon the world.
Chapter
seventeen then reveals who shall unleash that tribulation: the
"beast" from the north with seven heads, ten horns and seven kings.
We know who the seven heads and the ten horns are, but who are the seven
kings?
"There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the
other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. And the beast that was, and is not, is
himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to
perdition."
Astonishingly,
these verses tell us almost to the year when the great tribulation will be
unleashed.
We know that the end time power
that would trigger the great tribulation is Russia. We also know that in the end time there will
be ten kings leading a "company" of ten nations against Israel.
Where, then, do the seven kings fit into this scheme of things, for it is clear
that they belong to this end time power?
This was a difficult prophecy to unlock, but unlock we did it.
There have been six distinct
eras in the history of the Soviet Union, each one being associated with a major
figure. These are: 1. Establishment
under Lenin; 2.
Consolidation under Stalin; 3.
Relaxation under Krushchev; 4. Stagnation under Breshnev; 5.
Openness under Gorbachov; and, 6. Transformation under Yeltsin.
The
other few figures that jostled for power or held it temporarily between these
eras have had such a minor role and influence upon the history of the Soviet
Union that they cannot be counted as important for prophetic purposes. For example, when Lenin died, it was widely
expected that Trotsky or Bucharin would succeed him.
Trotsky even held command for a few months, but in the end foxy Stalin
outwitted and eliminated them both. When
Stalin died, Beria held the leading position for a
few months too. When he was eliminated, Bulganin and Malenkov jostled for power until Khruschev
ousted them. Khruschev
was overturned by Breshnev in a coup-de-tat. That was
the only "clean" transfer of power.
When Breshnev died Andropov and Chernenko warmed the chair for Gorbachov. Finally, Yeltsin succeeded Gorbachov and changed the Soviet Union.
The
history of Israel offers similar examples. In the transition between Saul and
David, Ishbosheth, Saul's son, ruled over Israel for
two years (2Sa.2:8-10), yet he is not listed among
the kings of Israel. David lost his
throne temporarily to his son, Absalom.
Absalom is not counted among the kings of Israel either. There have been
other examples.
The prophecy about the "kings" of Russia
gives the time for its own revelation:
"There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the
other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time.”
The
term "one is" tells us that it is in the reign of this king that the
prophecy will be revealed. The five fallen kings are: Lenin, Stalin, Khruschev, Breshnev and Gorbachov. Yeltsin is the present "king." It is in
his reign that we received the revelation of this prophecy.
When
the last "king" comes, "he must continue a short time."
Yeltsin's replacement will not waste much time before he will plunge the world
into catastrophe. How long is “a short
time”? We are not being told, but
clearly it could not be a long time.
Finally,
the last mystery connected with this prophecy is revealed:
"And the beast that was, and is not, is also the eighth, and is of
the seven, and is going to perdition."
In the Bible, only one man has
been described as a beast who will be present when Jesus Christ returns. He is Pontifex Maximus. He is the beast whose deadly wound was
healed, "who was [a king], and is not [a king]", and yet he is the
eighth [king]. The question now is, how could he be the eighth, and
part of the seven? If this revelation is not enough to dumbfound anybody,
nothing else will. Only one person in
the history of the world, who has held the position of Pontifex Maximus, could
fit such a description, and that is the current Pontiff.
Carol
Vojtila is of Polish origin, and the Poles, the
Yugoslavs and the Russians belong to the same family of Slavic people. He is of the same Slavic origin as the seven
Russian "kings", and that makes him the eighth "king".
Is
it a mere coincidence that the two acts which pre-empt the return of Jesus
Christ - the "abomination of desolation" standing in the holy place,
and the beast from the north attacking Israel - are both of Slavic origin?
The
major prophetic mysteries about the end time have been revealed. Now the seventh angel may sound his trumpet.
FALSE PROPHETS AND THE END TIME
This should be the
end of the story, except that there is a need for as to warn our readers
against a multitude of "prophets" who have filled the world with
deceptive literature about the end time prophecies. One person who has gained quite a following
on the claim that he is Elijah, wrote:
"Who am I? I am a witness to the truth, the truth of God, as He has
revealed it to me. You can prove this to yourself, by reading what God has
inspired me to write, and check-up, and compare it with the very Word of God
itself...
"Who am I? I am a servant of the living God, the Almighty God, the
Highest God! I am a spokesman, a messenger sent from God! Believe it -- and
obey -- and you can save your life! Disbelieve it, and disobey God's warning
message, and ignore His truth -- and DIE!" (William F. Dankenbring,
A Voice Crying in the Wilderness!
Triumph Prophetic Ministries, Altadena, California [1988]).
We noted earlier
that California seems to have a particular attraction to the "messengers
from God". That alone can be a
warning about what to expect. So let us
see what did this "witness to the truth" had
to say?
"In all my twenty-five years of writing, I have never written on a
more important, vital, crucial subject than this one ["vital",
remember that word? Garner Ted Armstrong had something "vital" for us
too. It seems to be the trademark of the
"messengers from God"]. The
time has come to unmask the devil -- to reveal the identity of the long-awaited
"Beast of Revelation." You may not believe it yet, you may scoff and
laugh, but just wait and you will see the most diabolical man of all human
history -- the anti-type of Antiochus Epiphanes,
"God Manifest" -- soon take his place at centre-stage on the world
scene, at the head of the most economically and militarily powerful Empire in
all human history -- a revival of the "Holy Roman Empire" of the
Hapsburg Period! It is his plan. He has envisioned it since the middle of World
War II when he obtained his doctorate at Vienna University and served as an
intelligence officer for the Wehrmacht...
Just who is this increasingly mysterious man? Why did the world's terrorists
and anti-Semitic leaders welcome his election? Why was the state of Israel
strangely silent during the election and campaign? Prime Minister Itzhak
Shamir, in the official Israeli reaction to Waldheim's election, warned, "If the world decides to
keep silent the hideous monster of Nazism could raise its head again..."
In Waldheim's Reich, or Kingdom, Germany would
serve as the "strong heartland..."
Bible prophecy shows that in the End Times, in which we are living and
breathing, today, a dramatic European colossus -- a federation of ten nations
-- will come together to forge the greatest military and economic power has
ever known... Prophecy indicates that
several of these nations will break away from European Community when it
becomes completely integrated -- the schedule is for total economic integration
by 1992, just four years from today! ("Dracula" -- "The Ghost of
Transilvania", The Waldheim File -- The Beast of Revelation Rises Up!")
"Am I the only one who sees the danger? Am I the only one who dares
to shout the warning? Why? Can't others see what is happening in front of their
very eyes? Tremendous events are taking
place in Europe which will fundamentally alter the future of this planet, and
which are setting the stage for one of the most dire events of all human
history -- the phenomenal resurrection out of a seemingly "bottomless
pit" of the powerful "HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE" -- the very same
historic "Empire" that was ruled over by Justinian, Charlemagne, Charles
of Hapsburg, Otto the Great of Germany, and Napoleon Bonaparte! The last
"resurrection" of that ill-starred Empire was ruled by none other
than Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. But once
again plans are in the making for a fantastic revival of that ancient
church-state system -- a political/religious union that will astound the
world!”
"I have been predicting the formation of such a union since 1965
when I wrote a magazine article entitled "German Nuclear Arms -- A Grave
Danger?"...
According to Bible prophecy, this future resurrection of the "Roman
Empire," emerging out of the "European Union" and "Common
Market" of the present time, as those nations weld and forge themselves
into an increasingly united political structure, will spring into existence
suddenly, as if virtually out of nowhere. And it will be a supremely strong
military power, as well!
When will it happen? All the signs and evidence point conclusively to
the early 1990's. According to the increasing signs, the world economy is for a
gigantic rupture and shake-up, and will crash in the early 1990's -- most
probably 1990, leading to an awesome and unparalleled "Great World
Depression" unlike anything the world has ever seen, including the
"Great Depression" of the 1930's...
And to start the engine of Europe humming, a super-powerful, charismatic
leader will emerge -- a man the nations of Europe will willingly follow -- an
astute politician, a clever and highly intelligent man, a
man "wise as Daniel," according to the prophecies of Ezekiel, a man
who will "conquer" the nations of Europe by "flattery" and
court their leaders.
Who is this man? This man will also emerge as the supreme creator of a
future "Holocaust" which will make the "Holocaust" of the
1930's and 1940's seem tame by comparison -- he will be at heart a virulent,
unreconstructed NAZI and vicious Anti-Semite...
Who will this vicious anti-Semite, anti-Christ, and charismatic leader
be? ...You will be astonished beyond measure! [He is] Kurt Waldheim!"
(The Return of the Nazis? KURT WALDHEIM MEETS THE
POPE. IS WALDHEIM THE "BEAST OF
REVELATION?" "Prophecy Flash," June 20, 1987).
Were
you "astonished beyond measure" at the unveiling of this "Beast
of Revelation"? Waldheim the "Beast of
Revelation? The man virtually vanished from history as soon as he relinquished
the Austrian Presidency.
That
is the most "important, vital, crucial subject" this "messenger
from God" has written. Do you want to know what he says in his less
"important" writings? We don't and have cut all our links with him.
There
is one thing that unites many of these "prophets from God," for there
are many of them. They all seem to have
received their training in the Worldwide Church of God. Herbert W. Armstrong would be proud of them
if he could see their deceptions and the extraordinary confusion they are
creating in the world.
One
is tempted to think that "Babylon, the Mother of Harlots" is not the
Roman Church but the Worldwide Church of God.
Maybe we should go back to the Scriptures and take a closer look. Recently, an American publication entitled
"Ambassador Report", listed no less than thirty "prophets",
groupings or "Churches of God" which have sprung from the Worldwide
Church of God.
Naturally,
he put us among them too, even though we have disowned the fallacies of Armstrongism. At
least they gave us a good review. They said that our "theological
journal" includes insightful commentary about the WCG
and CGI, and is "more substantive than those put out by many WCG-related groups."
We are grateful for that, but we would have been even more grateful if
they had sent as a courtesy copy of their publication; we sent them ours.
We
were startled by the sudden rush of new requests for our publications. We did not know what was happening until one
person mentioned that favourable review.
But don't let that deter you friends - keep writing about us. Meantime, "Watch and pray always that you
may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to
stand before the Son of Man." (Luke 21:36).
It
took some time for this work to be noticed, but now we find ourselves the
centre of unusual attention from a number of quarters. The Churches of God, for example, ignored us for
the first couple of years, thinking perhaps that we were just a passing
phenomenon. But now they are advancing a
formidable array of counter arguments in an attempt to discredit us. Nothing makes us happier than to face their
challenge.
Recently,
the Plain Truth - the magazine of the Worldwide Church of God, which has
become renowned for being neither plain nor truthful - took issue with the
topic we discussed in the following passage:
"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 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. 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 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 Laodicea
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 to 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." (The Christian Herald, No 3 (1993), p.9).
In
the May/June, 1994 issue of The Plain
Truth, a lengthy article appeared in which earlier heresies were not only
reiterated, but a new set of blasphemies were produced. Here are a couple of examples:
"But we are not like God in every respect. 'Certainly
not in bodily form, the upright position, or commanding aspect of the man,
since God has no bodily form,' points out the Keil
and Delitzsch’s Commentary
on the Old Testament, (Vol.1,
This
is how the evangelists of the Worldwide Church of God intend to answer our arguments
- by quoting people who are not even members of the church. It is hard to
imagine people with any knowledge of the Bible making more unscriptural
statements.
Since
we quoted the Bible extensively to substantiate our statements and to prove
that their assertions are wrong, we hoped that they would give us the courtesy
of replying in kind. This wasn't to be. Instead, they quoted Keil and Delitzsch. You haven't heard of Keil
and Delitzsch? Don't worry, we haven't heard of them
either. It must their neighbours.
You
know you are dealing with people of low scriptural competency when they rely on
other people's commentaries to tell them what is in the Bible. If their
assertion that God has no image was not enough, they went on to say this:
"Adam and Eve's bodies did not image God... Adam and Eve's bodies
were what they had in common with animals."
No further comment
needed, except these Scripture:
"But God gives a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own
body. All flesh is not the same flesh,
but there is one kind of flesh of men, another of beasts, another of fish, and
another of birds”
“And as we have
born the image of the man of dust [who was created in the image of God], we
shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man [Jesus Christ who was the very
God Himself].” (1Cor. 15:38-39, 49).
We
recorded their blasphemy (and prayed that the Almighty forgives us for doing
so), but it was important to show you how they are steering people away from
the truth of God and subtly inculcating them with evolutionary fallacies.
Another
passage in The Christian Herald which
seems to have disturbed our nemesis is this:
"I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End,
the First and the Last" (Rev. 22:13). God
is permanent, ageless and all encompassing. We live in Him and through Him. We
must therefore tune ourselves into the wavelength of His mind (Phil. 2:5) if we
want to achieve perfection and be with Him and Jesus Christ forever.
This is what the purpose of life is all about - to become holy and
perfect as our father is holy and perfect (1Peter
The much-vaunted "hell" is nowhere else but here on earth.
Anyone who fails to understand the purpose of the trials and tribulations which
human beings must endure, fails to understand the purpose of life. We are born
into this world to overcome our human nature and to become God-like. That is
why we are called the children of God (Deut. 14:1; Ps. 82:6;
The ministers in the Churches of God have excelled themselves again by
denying that we can become the sons of God just like Jesus Christ. Because the Holy Spirit does not allow them
to call themselves sons of God, they want to make everyone else believe the
same, and thus lose their salvation.
Salvation is dependent upon what people believe, that is why the
Apostles emphasised the importance of belief.
We, who believe, are born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh,
nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:13). We believe, therefore we
know that we are the children of God and that He will resurrect us at the
appointed time.
God will not force anyone into His Kingdom against their beliefs. Many times Jesus Christ said to those who
sought His healing, "be according to your belief." So, believe,
because a lot of things depend on it, including your eternal life." (The Christian
Herald, No 3 (1993), p.48).
They counter these
statements by asking and answering their own question: "What did Jesus
mean when He said, 'You are gods' (John 10:34)?"
‘To answer the crowd, Jesus then quoted from Psalm 82:6. “Is it not
written in your Law, ‘I have said you are gods’?" This quote from the
Scriptures took the people by surprise.
In Psalm 82, God speaks to the human judges of Israel, commanding them
to righteously judge the people. He calls them "gods," referring to
their high, God-given office...
Jesus then continued: "If he [God] called them 'gods,' to whom the
word of God came - and the Scripture cannot be broken - what about the one whom
the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you
accuse me of blasphemy because I said, 'I am God's Son'?" (John 10:35-36). Thus, Christ used a play on words to confuse
his attackers. In essence, he said:
"If in the Scriptures, 'gods' can refer to unjust human judges, how much
more can the name 'God' refer to me?"
Jesus was not telling these people that humans are literally gods. Instead,
he was cautioning them about standing in the place of judgement against him,
the Son of God." (The Plain
Truth, Feb., 1994).
There
is a consistent pattern with the Churches of God of never accepting the
Scriptures for what they say if they interfere with their doctrines and
preconceived ideas. They want everyone to believe that, without their help, the
Bible cannot be understood. It is as if
God used a special language in the Bible which only they understand. And what
understanding!
They
deny that human beings are the sons of God, that they are made in the image of
God, and that God and Jesus Christ have any image. They deny the very purpose
for which human beings were created, namely, to become spiritual sons of God
and receive eternal life in God's eternal Kingdom. If the following additional examples do not
make this clear, and do not put an end to this debate, then we rest our
case. These are the words of Jesus Christ
to Mary Magdalene immediately after His resurrection:
"Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but
go to My brethren and say to them, "I am ascending to My Father and your
Father, and to My God and your God.'" (John 20:17).
Was
He speaking about judges here? The Son of God, bearing the image of God and of
human beings, was calling His followers "brethren" and telling them
that His Father was also their Father and His God was also their God.
Later
that day, He showed Himself to His disciples in the same human form. Not long after that, He was seen rising to
heaven. What happened to Him after He disappeared from sight, did He lose that
image? Of course not! He simply regained
His spiritual image, which He retains to this day.
In
the book of Revelation (chapters 1, 4, 5, 21 and 22) we are given glimpses of
heaven and the throne of God, where both the images of Jesus Christ and of the
Father appear. In the Old Testament, similar images can be found in the books
of Daniel (chapters 7 and 10), Ezekiel (chapter 1 ff) and others. For those who want further proof that we are
indeed the children of God, here are a few more examples:
"For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus."
(Gal. 3:26).
"Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we
should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because
it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are
children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know
that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness
is righteous, just as He is righteous.
He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning.
For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works
of the devil. Whoever has been born of
God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he
has been born of God. In this the children of God and the children of the devil
are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor he who
does not love his brother.
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they
are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. You are of God, little children, and have
overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the
world. For whatever is born of God overcomes
the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith (1John 3:1-3, 7-10; 4:1,4; 5:4).
Why do these people go to such lengths to put
doubt in people’s minds about their potential and purpose and of their
life? The first humans fell for the trap
set by Satan by allowing doubt to enter their hearts about the promises of
their Creator. Now we are witnessing a
similar scenario, only on a much larger scale.
And who are the perpetrators this time?
The Church that used to claim that it was the only
true Church of God in the world.
So much for the Worldwide Church of God. Now let us have a look at the Church of God,
International. Garner Ted Armstrong and
his evangelists have also been paying us unusual attention lately. They seem to
have taken issue with the following passage:
"No new yoke and no other troubles are to be placed upon those who
are turning to God from among the Gentiles, except to abstain from idols,
sexual immorality, things strangled and from blood [Acts 15:13-21]. Where are
the "first tithe", the "second tithe", the "third
tithe", the mandatory Holy Day offerings and the special offerings in
these writings?
Hardly anyone who has been touched by the present ministers in the
Churches of God has not suffered financial, personal or family problems. They
specialise in splitting families and in causing problems for their members.
That seems to be their trademark. A more appropriate name for them would be
‘the synagogue of trouble makers’. Why
synagogue? Because they preach, among other things, the Old Testament
restrictions about food.
In the Old Testament, such restrictions were in accordance with the law
of God, but in the New Testament they no longer are. Since Jesus Christ
purified everything, there is no longer such a thing as a clean or unclean
animal. Apostle Paul went so far as to
say that those who preach such doctrines are inspired by demons:
"Now the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times some will
depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of
demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a
hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God
created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the
truth. For every creature of God is
good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it
is sanctified by the word of God and prayer." (1 Ti. 4:3).
All creatures are to be received with thanksgiving by those who know the
truth. Those who preach otherwise do not know the truth. Christians are not made unclean by eating
flesh which previously was thought to be unclean.
"Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of
the mouth, this defiles a man." (Matt. 15:11).
"Eat whatever is sold in the meat market, asking no questions for conscience
sake; for 'The earth is the Lord's and its fullness. If any of those who do not
believe invite you to dinner, and you desire to go, eat whatever is set before
you, asking no questions for conscience sake." (1 Cor.
10: 25-27).
The ministers in the Churches of God think that they know better than
Jesus Christ and His Apostles and have taken upon themselves to override their
teachings. Jesus Christ gave His
followers power not only over all kinds of flesh, but also over the venom of
serpents and scorpions (see
And this is how
they reply to these writings:
“It's well known, even in our world of hitech
refrigeration and high standards of hygienic food-handling, that certain foods
are likely to cause illness. High on the
list of meat with a medical health warning are the so-called "unclean"
meats listed in Scripture...
In fact, an open-minded study of the Scriptures [They talk about
open-minded study of the Scriptures!] forces only one answer to our question.
Yes, some meats are unfit to eat! And Christians, especially, in whom dwells the
Spirit of God, who are His "temple," who are Christ's body, ought to
give heed to the Bible's dietary laws!” (The International News, Vol. XV, No 1, 1994).
Notice
the sleight of hand? Not the Old
Testament dietary laws but the Bible's dietary laws. They see no difference
between the Old and the New Testaments in this regard. They went on to publish
a long list of "clean" animals which people can eat. They find it hard to change their doctrine
about dietary laws because it is part of an elaborate hoax which includes
questionable tithing doctrines, attendance at special feast sites, unquestioned
obedience to ruthless ministry, complete isolation from "unconverted"
friends and family, etc.
They
say that people who eat "unclean" meats are likely to get sick.
People can get sick by eating any food that has not been properly prepared or
is spoilt. If the dietary laws were any
guide to people's health, the Chinese people should have perished long ago, for
they eat a wide variety of foods which are not kosher by Jewish standards. Yet
they are the most numerous people on earth, and their food is both delicious
and nutritious.
The
Churches of God cannot afford to let their dietary laws go because if they do
all their other doctrines will come under question too. If that were to happen, they would all be put
out in the street. What could people do who have done little else in their life
than collect taxes (‘tithes and offerings’ they call them)?
They
used to pride themselves in being inspired preachers, in being able to
understand God's prophecies on pretext that God’s Holy Spirit worked with them.
We let our readers decide with whom the Holy Spirit works these days.
Remember
the prophecy about the "abomination of desolation" in The Christian
Herald No 3? Garner Ted Armstrong said that it is an
idol which will be placed in a temple which is yet to be built in
Jerusalem. We painstakingly proved that
the holy place is not to be found in any new temple, that it is the ground on
which Jesus Christ was crucified and spilt His blood. Now not only are they continuing to preach
this fallacy, they have linked it to their dietary law:
"Clearly God still holds the eating of unclean flesh as an
abomination! Anciently, God's Temple was desecrated by the sacrifice of an
unclean animal on the altar. Very soon there will be a temple (of sorts) again
standing in Jerusalem. Again that temple will be desecrated. Is it possible
that the coming Antichrist will enforce the ritual eating of swine's flesh?
That once again the altar will be defiled by the sacrifice of a pig upon it?
That a required part of the coming universal religion will be eating of
"the abomination"? If so, then it will surely be sin to eat the
unclean!"
This
time the "abomination of desolation" is no longer an idol, but a pig.
Did you notice whom they regard as "Antichrist"? Someone who does not
believe in their dietary laws, who supposedly desecrates this mythical altar
with a swine. They are laying the
groundwork for turning the tables on witnesses of God who are preaching the
Gospel of Jesus Christ and the tenets of the New Testament.
If
you want to understand what is happening in the world these days, remember the
words of the Apostles:
"Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore
it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers
of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works." (2Cor.11:14,15).
STATE OF THE WORLD
A
round-up of news
and commentaries from around
the world highlighting the state
of the world as this age nears its
conclusion.
POLITICS AND
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
"RISE
OF EXTREMISM BRINGS BACK MEMORIES OF 1930s.
The year 1993 was a schizoid time in world affairs, with advances in
international co-operation over-shadowed by gruesome ethnic wars and a surge in
political extremism. While proponents of
a New World Order could claim a few stunning victories, it was clear by the end
of the year that the world was still a dangerous place to live." (The Australian, December 24, 1993).
"STATES
MEET TO PUT NEW LIFE INTO CIS. MOSCOW:
Leading officials from 10 former Soviet republics met here yesterday to try to
breathe life into the Commonwealth of Independent States as a vehicle for
common defence and foreign policies.
While five republics stayed away - the three Baltic States, Moldova and
Turkmenistan - the attendance of foreign and defence ministers from the others
was a hopeful sign for next month's meeting of leaders of former Soviet
republics in Moscow. The Russian Foreign Minister, Mr. Andrey
Kozirev, told the meeting: ‘We will add a new
dimension to the CIS. We will make it an active factor in international as well
as regional development., He said there had been a ‘sobering-up from the
euphoria of parting of the ways’ in the former Soviet Union and called for a
reintegration ‘on a basis of sovereignty and equality’” (SMH, August 26, 1993).
"YELTSIN'S
FOES PARDONED. MOSCOW: The Russian
Parliament voted yesterday to pardon foes of President Boris Yeltsin who staged
an armed rebellion last October and an attempted communist coup in August 1991.
Deputies voted 253-67 on a resolution which also gave amnesty to businessmen
convicted in the former communist era for activities no longer considered
crimes." (The Australian, Feb. 24, 1994).
"YELTSIN
PRESSES WEST OVER PEACE PROCESS. MOSCOW:
The Russian President, Mr Boris Yeltsin, is pressing Western nations to bring
warring parties in Bosnia-Herzegovina to the peace table, making it clear that
Russia intends to continue its high-profile role in settling the Bosnian
conflict... Russian officials suggested
that a summit might be held in Moscow, a move likely to be resisted by Bosnian
Government, which has not welcomed Russia's involvement... The move renewed
Russia's historic role in the Balkans and protected Serbs, ‘who are our kin in
religion, culture and national spirit’.
Mr Kostikov, Mr Yetsin's
press secretary, said UN and NATO diplomacy had nearly brought the world to the
brink of crisis and a world war." (SMH,
February 23, 1994).
"HOW
THE WEST CAN HELP RUSSIA DELIVER THE GOODS.
President Boris Yeltsin is by far the best exponent of democracy and
progress, and hence the path to stability.
Not everyone agrees with Warren Christopher, the United states Secretary
of state. Since last month's election,
in which ex-communists and ranting nationalists did so well, many outsiders
have grown gloomy about Russia. The gloom comes in three parts. First is the
realisation that, despite the assault on the Russian parliament last October
that was supposed to defeat the hard-liners, the new parliament may be as
obstructive as the old one.
Ex-communists are being appointed to all sorts of bodies. Second is the unending sound of the Russian
economy as it gurgles down the drain. Third is the growing evidence that
Russians of many stripes still hanker for an empire. All in all, the West's
policy towards Russia seems to have failed...
In
response to this muddle, the Russians have changed their attitude to the West.
At one time, the US enjoyed top spot in Russian estimation. Now, acclamation
has changed to hostility. Meanwhile, Russia's foreign policy has come under the
control of those who put Russian power in the former Soviet Union top of the
foreign agenda. With ex-communists and nationalists in the ascendant and an
economy that has yet to deliver the goods, Russia is cantankerous and therefore
dangerous... If all this is not to go wrong, the West urgently needs to fashion
a policy towards Russia that supports reform and discourages delusions of
imperial grandeur." (The Australian, Jan. 19, 1994).
"WELCOME
CHANGE FOR CLINTON. After a week at home
marred by an old Little Rock land scandal, now known ominously as Whitewater, Clinton is about to test the post Cold War ebb
and flow of Europe. But this is not
going to be a pleasure cruise, either. Clinton has never presented himself as
the foreign policy president. There's
the issue of charting a new course for the Atlantic Alliance at the NATO
summit, there is the edginess of emergent East European democracies over the
rise of neofascism in Russia, there is the very
survival of Boris Yeltsin's ship of state and, of course, there's Bosnia. ...Zhirinovsky's emergence is why Russia's
reformers now oppose the eastward extension of NATO's security shield. Don't
fuel his imperial delusions. So Yeltsin warned last week that a NATO on Russia's
doorstep would promote ‘undesirable moods in civilian and military
circles’. Zhirinovsky is the man who
wants to take back Alaska and make it a province of Mother Russia. How much respect would he give newly independent
former satellites? ...There is another
factor at work in the policy mix. Russia retains the second most awesome
capacity to destroy the world." (Philip McCarthy, SMH, Jan. 10,
1994).
"CLINTON
NAMED. RUSSIAN nationalist leader
Vladimir Zhirinovsky told television interviewer David Frost that President
Bill Clinton wants to be the ruler of the world and that ‘America would like to
destroy Russia.’" (The Sun-Herald, March 27, 1994).
"MAD
VLAD AND DANGEROUS TO KNOW. Vladimir Zhirinovsky is a phenomenon. Leader of the Liberal Democrats, who control Russia's parliament,
he storms through Europe peddling his expansionist, ultra-nationalist ideas.
Just how frightened should we be?
‘We
don't know how far Russia's borders will stretch. Once we decide, you will have
to accept that decision.’ The man who threatened to invade Finland and Alaska to restore
Russia's borders, and nuke the West, is resting between parliamentary sessions
on the ninth floor of a hotel overlooking the White House. He is looking in front of an enormous map of
the world, abusing peons and bodyguards who stand to attention with fear
clearly etched on their faces. ‘Don't be
afraid, the war hasn't began,’ one says nervously to me over the din of
Zhirinovsky's screams, and then adds under his breath, ‘yet.’” (The
Australian Magazine, May
"US TO GET TOUGH ON
RUSSIA IN POLICY SHIFT. The
Clinton administration has decided on a fundamental shift in its policy towards
Russia amid growing concern that President Yeltsin is losing control at home
while seeking to expand Moscow's influence abroad. ‘The new policy simply
reflects the new reality,’ said one senior White House official. ‘There is a
realisation that Russia today is a much more powerful and shrewder diplomatic
actor abroad than it was even a couple of months ago. At the same time the economy is falling apart
and Yeltsin is in trouble.’" (James Adams, The
Australian, April 11, 1994).
"NONE
SHALL SLEEP SHOULD RUSSIA START TO BACKSLIDE.
Russia remains Europe's most formidable military power, and the only
country that retains the power to destroy the United States and much of the
rest of the world. Future generations will not forgive the United States and
the West if we fail to make every effort to discourage the re-emergence of
tyranny and militarism in Russia." (SMH, Dec. 30, 1993).
"ATROCITY
AND OUTRAGE. Spectres of barbarism in
Bosnia compel the US and Europe to ponder: Is it time to intervene? The shock
of recognition is acute. Skeletal figures behind barbed wire. Murdered babies in a bus. Two and a half
million people driven from their homes in an orgy of ‘ethnic cleansing.’ Detention camps, maybe even concentration
camps. Surely these pictures and stories come from another time - the Dark
Ages, the Thirty Years' War, Hitler's heyday. Psychic defences struggle to
minimise, to deny, to forget. Not here; not now. Europeans were supposed to have learned from
the last terrible war on their soil not to murder their neighbours. Educated people, on the verge of the 21st
century, in a relatively prosperous country that is party to multiple
human-rights treaties, do not drive innocents from their homes, shoot orphans,
build detention camps. But the
evidence, accumulating for months, is now inescapable; like an addiction, hatred
is consuming the people who used to call themselves Yugoslavs. Every throat slit makes someone else thirst
for blood. ‘They killed my husband and son,’ says a tearful Bosnian refugee.
‘They burned our home. But they can
never rest easy, because one day we will do the same to them, or worse. My children will get their revenge, or their
children.’ No one anywhere can pretend
any longer not to know what barbarity has engulfed the people of the former
Yugoslavia." (Time, Aug. 17, 1992).
"BOSNIANS
DECRY RAPE, TORTURE. SYDNEY: 800
Bosnians and supporters marched from Circular Quay yesterday in a rally with
several refugees who had only arrived from Serbian concentration camps. Organised by the Australian Women's Committee
to publicise torture and ‘ethnic cleansing’, which it says has resulted in
"UNITED
EUROPE MUST DEFEAT THE DEMON OF NATIONALISM.
Czech President Vaclav Havel says Europe lacks
an ethos... Twice this century all of Europe has paid a tragic price for the
narrow-mindedness and lack of imagination of its democracies. These democracies
first failed when confronted with Nazism; they retreated and refused this evil
in the bud, only to have to pay a million times more in the struggle against
Nazism in full bloom. They failed a second time when they allowed Stalin to
swallow up one half of our continent and bring history there to a halt. Today
this failure is tragically coming to haunt not only those who have recently
escaped from Soviet tyranny, but everyone. There is a saying, ‘Everything good
and evil comes in threes’. Democratic
Europe cannot afford a third failure.
And yet, I am afraid a third failure is looming.
I am
not only referring to the caution and indecision that mark the attitudes of the
developed countries of Western Europe towards the post-communist
countries. I am referring chiefly to
their response to events in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in the whole of former
Yugoslavia. The peace talks ought to come up with a comprehensive defence of
precisely those values on which the future Europe should stand - that is, the
values of a civic society based on the peaceful coexistence of different ethnic
groups and cultures. Instead they are, more and more blatantly, an occasion to
argue over new borders between ethnically purified mini-States, as defined by
the outcome of clashes between illegal armies. An internationally recognised
multinational State is being subdivided according to the dictates of fanatical
warlords.
Regardless
of how well intentioned, such behaviour means sanctifying the idea of the
‘ethnically pure State’ and giving up on the idea of the civic society. We are
cutting off the very branch we are sitting on." (The Australian, Nov. 11, 1993).
"A
DEMON IS UNLEASHED. Tribal warfare
returns with a vengeance as Tutsi and Hutu battle for power... They lie in an
old gas station, a dozen charred bodies sprawled on the concrete, their clothes
burned off, limbs twisted in death. The bodies of teenage boys have been lying
exposed since the week before, when they were herded out of their village
school and set ablaze. So far, no one has dared to bury the dead.
The
young boys of Kibimba were killed for one reason:
they belonged to the Tutsi tribe in a land where ethnicity has become a fatal
curse. Since members of the
predominantly Tutsi military killed the country's first ever Hutu President
last month, Burundi's two main ethnic groups have been killing each other by
the thousands." (Time, Nov. 15, 1993).
"MASSACRE
OF TUTSIS GENOCIDE SAYS UN. GOVERNMENT
troops bombarded rebel headquarters in the Rwandan capital of Kigali yesterday
as United Nations and aid officials said weeks of slaughter amounted to a
campaign of genocide. Hundreds of
thousands of Rwandans faced starvation and piles of rotting corpses fouled
water supplies in Kigali, threatening a double disaster for survivors of civil
war and the butchery. The British aid
agency Oxfam said up to half a million Tutsis were missing and the number of
killings might well be much larger than suspected" (The Weekend Australian, April 30-May 1, 1994).
"ORPHANS 'MADE
BIG EYES' AT
DEADLY MOTHERS. MUSHA, RWANDA:
Juliana Mukankawaya is the mother of six children and
the murderer of two,
the son and daughter of people she had known since she was a child. Last week , Mukankawaya said, she and other women rounded up the
children of fellow villagers they perceived as enemies. With gruesome resolve, they bludgeoned the
stunned children to death with large sticks.
‘They didn't
cry because they knew us,’ Mukankawaya said.
‘They just made big eyes. We killed too many to count.’
Wearing
a black shawl and a blank expression, the slightly built 35-year-old said she
was doing the children a favour, since they were now orphans who faced a hard
life. Their fathers had been butchered
with machetes and their mothers had been taken away to be raped and killed...
‘People
who would carry out such massacres, especially against children, are less than
animals,’ said Tito Rutaremara, 49, a former party
coordinator and leading political
influence in the rebel movement. ‘You
have to teach people to forgive and forget.
It's like the Nazis. Most people were behind the Nazis but you can't
punish all the people.’" (The Australian, May 17, 1994).
"HUMAN
SACRIFICE TO THE SOCIAL ORDER. The Great
European War did not end almost 75 years ago at 11 o'clock in the morning of
November 11, 1918. Rather, that was the moment when an armistice came into
force along the Western Front.
Consequent armed conflicts continued between nations well into the
1920s. War-induced revolutions flared in many countries for just as long. In
order to suppress or support such uprisings, nations invaded each other...
Equally,
the Great War did not begin in the summer of 1914, neither at Sarajevo with the
assassination of the Austrian archduke, nor when the British ultimatum to
Germany expired. The origin of that conflict went back well into the final
third of the 19th century with its scramble for markets. Hence, one key to interpreting the 20th
century can be offered without hesitation: the 20th century has been a second
100 years' war. We have only just escaped from a 25-year era during which we
could never be sure whether our governments would avoid global nuclear
annihilation. We are lucky that anyone is alive to write the history of this
century." (The
Weekend Australian, Nov. 6-7, 1993).
"UN
DESPAIR. SOMEONE who visited the United
Nations headquarters last January would not recognise it today. A year ago, the UN's Manhattan complex
bustled with unprecedented activity and the all-powerful Security Council met
daily to dispense peace and order around the world from Bosnia to Somalia to
Mozambique. Today the UN's narrow
corridors are strangely empty. And the giant world body bureaucracy,
discredited by the impotence of its peace-making efforts, has reverted to its
habitual lethargy. Almost everywhere
around the globe the UN's intervention - on which so many hopes had been pinned
in 1993 - produced little more than disappointment...
‘It's
not that the UN is no good. But the
Security Council is just an instrument of the big powers and these powers had
very little resolve to act,’ a UN
diplomat said. ‘Even that mild UN
weapon, the economic sanction, was used only when it did not harm to the
interests of the big powers,’ diplomats said.
UN sanctions against Yugoslavia, for example, were tightened this year
and the Security Council coldly ignored objections from such neighbouring
nations as Romania, Bulgaria and Ukraine, whose economies lost hundreds of
millions of dollars to the Danube blockade and the breakdown of trade with
Belgrade. But this year's UN embargo on
Libya, on the other hand, pointedly excluded Tripoli's single largest foreign
currency earner, the oil industry - because cutting off Libyan oil would have
damaged western European economies." (The Weekend
Australian, Jan. 1-2, 1994).
"OZONE
ALARM. BANGKOK: The ozone layer has
reached "alarming" levels of destruction, despite six years of
conservation efforts, and faces further attack from massive amounts of
destructive gases, the executive director of the United Nations Environment
Program, Ms Elizabeth Dowdeswell, has warned an
international conference on the problem." (SMH, Nov. 19, 1993).
"WE'RE
GETTING HOTTER AT NIGHT. If you suspect you have been sweltering through too
many hot nights lately, you may be right.
Climatologists have found that global warming appears to have caused the
nights to heat up three times faster than the days during the past 40
years. The director of the Climatic
Impacts Centre at Macquarie University, Professor Ann Henderson-Sellers, said
international research into global warming has discovered that the difference
between day and night temperatures is shrinking." (SMH, Nov. 9, 1993).
"THE
FIRST PROOF: OUR WEATHER'S GONE MAD. Australian climate
researchers believe they have found the first sure sign that the warming of the
planet is having an effect on extreme weather events, but it is a surprising
one - the world is having fewer severe frosts. Scientists now have no doubt
that the world has been getting slowly warmer recently and many forecast that
if this continues as expected due to the greenhouse effects, events such as
floods, droughts and cyclones will increase or become severe...
The
new findings by the Bureau of Meteorology Research Centre, in
Melbourne, that frosts have gradually declined over the past 40 years fits
that pattern. Major cities are already
known to have fewer frosts than rural areas, because they create ‘heat islands’
that tend to keep overnight minimum temperatures a little above normal.
Although
a full global analysis will not be available until the end of the year, the
centre's studies so far show that this trend is also affecting non-urban areas
in many countries...
The
environmental group Greenpeace found evidence that since 1990 ‘the number of
extreme weather events is increasing dramatically’. The Group cites 500 reports of such events
and related incidents around the world - including the January bushfires in eastern Australia, ocean warming in the
Pacific and the coral reef bleaching in Tahity - as
‘real evidence that climate change has
began and the effects are already being felt.’” (SMH, June 2, 1994).
"TO WEATHER MISFORTUNE THE
"GRASSLAND
DECLINE THREATENS DISASTER. The world
has less than 10 years to take action to prevent the widespread devastation of
one of its primary food-production systems, leading international scientists
warned yesterday. Grasslands and
rangelands extending over half the Earth's land area are being degraded and
destroyed at a frightening rate, according to speakers at the International Grasslands
Congress. Their loss not only threatened
global food and economic security but would also cause large-scale displacement
of populations and the extinction of many kinds of useful animal and plant
species...
‘We
must look after our grasslands because they are a heritage to humanity. If we
lose them, there will be nothing, absolutely nothing left,’ said FAO's Dr Fernando Rivers.
Genetic erosion, the loss of potentially valuable food and forage plants
from grasslands was a problem of world concern, Dr Rainer Schultze-Kraft
of
"WATER
CRISIS. NORDWIJK,
"BEARS
DRIVEN BY HUNGER.