Germany Moves To Become
Biggest Power In Europe
by Garner Ted Armstrong
For more than four decades, I
have warned that a "United States of Europe" would eventually
emerge in the "heartland" of Europe, and that such an organization of
states would loom as the most dangerous enemy of the United States and
Britain. I have said that such a power would eventually move into the
Middle East as a "peace-keeping" occupying power, and that a great world
religious leader would intervene in the protracted struggle between
Israelis and Arabs over Jerusalem.
All during the Cold War, I was preaching on radio, television, and
before tens of thousands in live audiences that the eventual fulfillment
of Revelation 17:12-14 would NOT necessarily occur as a result of the
current move toward a united Europe of more than fifteen states; that it
would NOT arise from the NATO alliance. Instead, it would arise from the
shattered remains of the present attempt at European union, just as
Germany, like the fabled Phoenix, arose from the ashes of World
War II.
Also, I have said for decades that Britain would NOT be a member of
the final ten!
Today, as the "EU" (European Union) slowly forms, all is not well.
Various flagging economies and vast disparities in population and gross
national product make the entire system appear as a shaky structure
without solid footing.
Recently, Germany's Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder demanded that
Germany be given a larger say in things. He said, "I cannot agree (to) a
system that gives Spain or Poland — just think of the relative gross
domestic product—just as many votes as Germany, which has double the
population."
Consistent Predictions For Decades
When I first visited Germany, the signs of the destruction of World
War II were everywhere. But, for all the many shattered and shell-pocked
buildings I saw, I also noticed the incredible beehive of activity. I
have read extensively about Germany; not only its fascinating history,
but dozens of books about the rise of Hitler, Nazism, the Second World
War, and the aftermath, when Marshal Plan dollars were pouring into
Germany to rebuild.
During one trip to all the nations of Central America, I spoke with
the regional sales manager for the Ford Motor Company. He told me "The
Germans are coming in the windows down here," and referred to the hardy
little Volkswagens, which are air-cooled, and which held up much better
than the Fords. There was a saying there, and in Mexico that "Ford" was
an acronym in Spanish which stood for Fabricacion Ordinaria,
Reparacion Diaria, or, Ordinary Manufacture, Daily Repair.
It was in Columbia where I first heard the slogan, "Other people work
to live; Germans live to work." When I learned that workers in Wolfsburg,
the site of the only working Volkswagen plant shortly after the war, had
literally broken up their furniture to get the furnaces going so they
could produce cars for export; when I heard lusty singing in the streets
out my hotel window in Dusseldorf at 5:00 a.m., and looked out to see
dozens of German workers, singing as they carried their lunch pails to
work, it made an impression.
In my many visits since, I continually marveled at the incredible
progress being made.
Within the past few decades, Germany has risen from the ashes of
defeat into a glittering, modern, powerful nation—the most vibrant,
successful, powerful nation in Europe!
Back in the mid-1950s, I knew this would be so. I knew then, and said
so many times, that the eventual United States of Europe would include
such nations as Poland, Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia (now divided
into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) and the Balkans.
I knew this because of the history of the old "Holy Roman Empire" and
the fact that the "Beast" power in central Europe had in most cases been
a Germanic empire.
I had read about the Hapsburgs; about Otto the Great, and Bismarck. I
knew the aspirations of famous German leaders down through the
centuries; that they, as did Hitler, believed there was a kind of
"Divine Destiny" for Germany to fulfill; that the Germans were destined
to "save the world from Bolshevism," as well as lead the world in
"Christian culture."
As shocking as it may sound, there were those among the German High
Command in the closing moments of World War II who actually thought they
could convince the Western Allies to sign an armistice in return for the
Germans helping the Western powers to defeat Russia!
Among them was Herman Goering! The US and Britain refused all such
overtures.
Some of the significant books which were published shortly after
World War II included Fire in the Ashes by Theodore White;
Fragebogen, by Ernst von Solomon, and Watcher Along the Rhine
by Brian Connells, who was a 20 year veteran writer for Reuters.
Even during the depths of the Cold War, when well-known American
televangelists were telling their audiences that RUSSIA (the Soviet
Union) would attack Palestine; that RUSSIA was the "beast" of Bible
prophecy, I was saying that the nations of Eastern Europe (and I named
them all) would come out from behind the "Iron Curtain," unite, and
become part of a U.S. of Europe.
For decades, I said repeatedly that Germany would be reunited!
Now, all that has HAPPENED!
Watch, now, as more and more controversy erupts between leaders in
NATO and those who want an all new German dominated "European Army."
Watch as Britain becomes more and more disenchanted with the EU. Watch
as Germany begins to swing its weight around—using its economic and
military strength to play a much larger political role_not only in
Europe, but in the Mideast, and in the world.
As recently as December of 2000, Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair
was quoted as being very concerned about the "political impact of
Germany emerging as the country with the biggest clout in the community
[the EU] in the future." Many Britons have a long memory. So do the
French. When Schroeder spoke out about Germany having a larger role, the
French Prime Minister, M. Chirac, said, "It's not possible to overturn
the founding principle of the Franco-German pact, which was one of
inviolable equality...the postwar leaders of France and Germany—De
Gaulle and Adenauer — sealed a reconciliation agreement after a tragedy
of wars, killings, atrocities and reckless conduct, and we cannot go
back on that."
Was he merely being hopeful; even plaintive?
Schroeder was adamant. He said, "We can't have a situation in an
enlarged union where Germany, with more than 80 million people, has only
10 votes, while 19 small states with fewer than 80 million between them,
have 57 votes."
All is not well in the present shaky EU. Eventually, you will see a
global economic collapse; the rise of virulent nationalism; despots,
dictators, and then the forging together of the final ten nations.
Speaking of the nature of the modern German people, Isaiah
prophesied, "I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against
the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and
to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
"Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but
it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few" (Isaiah
10:6, 7).
Democracy is still an "experiment" in Germany. Their natural tendency
is to look for a powerful, magnetic, inspiring LEADER; a "Fuhrer," who
will rise up like a Bismarck or a Hitler, and lead them to their
perceived rightful place—the pinnacle of power over all Europe, and
eventually the world.
Millions of Americans are utterly ignorant of Europe; ignorant of
European history, and of the prophecies of your Bible which detail a
step-by-step series of events which will soon SHOCK this nation, and the
world! For decades, I have said, Watch Germany! The warning is
even more poignant today! q
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Will Jewish Mobs Destroy
The DOME OF THE ROCK?
Shocking news from Israel insists there is a
PLOT afoot for ultra-right wing Jewish mobs to march against the
gilt-domed "Dome of the Rock" and the Al Aksa Mosques, called the "third
holiest sites" in Islam. What would happen if the mosques were brought
down?
by Garner Ted Armstrong
For decades, I have warned, "Watch Jerusalem!" Why?
Because Jerusalem is the focal point of all Bible prophecy! It is the
place from which Jesus Christ gave His famous "Olivet prophecy"; the
place where He taught in the temple as a boy of 12 years; the place
where He died, was resurrected, and from which He ascended to the
Father.
Christ Himself said Jerusalem would be the most important place to
WATCH! And why watch? Christ said we should watch and PRAY ALWAYS
[without omitting prayer from our lives] that we might be accounted
worthy to ESCAPE all the horrors of the coming tribulation.
Those who disdain to watch world conditions are described as the
"sleepy virgins" in Matthew 25, who will be shocked when they are
suddenly plunged into the tribulation; those whose spiritual lives have
grown cool, and who are unaware, uninterested, and uninvolved.
Paul warned the Thessalonians: "But of the times and the seasons,
brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
"For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as
a thief in the night.
"For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden
destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and
they shall not escape.
"But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake
you as a thief.
"Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we
are not of the night, nor of darkness.
"Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch
and be sober" (1 Thessalonians 5:1-6). Recently, I received news of a
plot to DESTROY THE MOSQUES atop the Temple Mount. Could such a plot
succeed? Will attacks against the mosques bring about a major war in the
Mideast; one in which massive loss of life occurs due to chemical,
biological or even nuclear attacks?
The Bible Is A
Mideastern Book
The footprints of mankind lead away from the Mideast, not the Olduvai
Gorge in Africa. The environs of Jerusalem were most likely occupied
from the earliest days of human expansion; perhaps were a part of the
fabled "Garden of Eden." One must not assume the Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers flow today where they flowed prior to the Flood of Noah's time.
Practically all of Bible prophecy focuses on the Mideast —
specifically on Jerusalem!
Notice Jesus Christ's warning about the "Antichrist;" the "man of
sin" who will be ensconced in a temple, blasphemously claiming himself
to be god incarnate!
Christ said, "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of
desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place,
(whoso readeth, let him understand:)
"Then let them which be in Judaea [the ancient Roman province around
Jerusalem] flee into the mountains:
"Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out
of his house:
"Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his
clothes.
"And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in
those days!
"But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the
sabbath day:
"For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the
beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
"And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh
be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened"
(Matthew 24:15-22). What a remarkable prophecy! Christ clearly described
a war which would be even more destructive than World War II!
Your Savior plainly said that the placing of the hated "abomination"
in God's sight IN THE HOLY PLACE would lead to DESOLATION! That means
horrible destruction — the laying waste of buildings and homes; the
massive loss of human life!
As shocking as it seems, Christ's Olivet prophecy predicts yet
another holocaust to befall the Jewish people in Israel!
As a typical fulfillment that precise scenario HAPPENED in 71 AD when
the armies of the pagan emperor of Rome, under Titus, besieged and
ultimately DESTROYED Jerusalem!
The pagan Romans set up their standards at the Temple. Long before,
Antiochus Ephiphanes had set up a statue of "Jupiter Olympus" in the
temple, which was another earlier typical fulfillment of the end-time
prophecy. Such were typical fulfillment of the "abomination [which
causes] desolation."
Remember, the Temple still stood when Jesus Christ gave His Olivet
prophecy. The disciples had only to turn their heads, and there, across
the plunging valley where the Brook Kidron then flowed, was the famous
skyline of Jerusalem, with the second Temple, the "Herodian" Temple,
dominating. There was no misunderstanding His words. The entire prophecy
began with the disciples, awed by the huge columns and majesty of the
Temple, remarking about its magnificence. "And Jesus went out, and
departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to show him
the buildings of the temple.
"And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say
unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that
shall not be thrown down.
"And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him
privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall
be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" (Matthew
24:1-3). The word for "world" in the Greek language is aion which
is the same as eon, and means "age." It did NOT imply the end of
the planet, or the end of all mankind, but the "end of the age."
Christ then answered, "Take heed that no man deceive you.
"For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall
deceive many.
"And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not
troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not
yet.
"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:
and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers
places.
"All these are the beginning of sorrows" (Matthew 24:4-8).
You and I have been living in a period of time characterized by "wars
and rumors of wars" for a long time! Every day, "rumors" of possible
wars, or news of guerrilla wars, and the threat of war in places like
the Balkans, Korea, Taiwan, Pakistan and India, and the Mideast bombards
us from the news media.
But the SPECIFIC events which Christ said would trigger the
tribulation were (1) the "abomination of desolation" [or, the
"abomination which CAUSES destruction], and, (2) armies surrounding
Jerusalem. He said, "And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with
armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh" (Luke 21:20).
What will be the end-time literal fulfilment of the placing of the
"abomination of desolation?"
The Antichrist In
The Temple?
Paul was quite familiar with Christ's prophecies, for he had SEEN
Christ in person, perhaps daily for up to three or more years! His
famous prophecy about the man of sin is well known. He warned the
Thessalonians: "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
"That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by
spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ
is at hand.
"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come,
except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be
revealed, the son of perdition;
"Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or
that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God,
showing himself that he is God" (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4). There can be no
doubt that Paul meant the Temple which stood in his day. Those who
attempt to make his words into metaphor for the church are in error. He
wrote "the Temple of God" and he meant the "Temple of God."
For decades, God's church has understood that, if this prophecy is to
be taken literally, a new "third temple" must be built! Not wishing to
insist on a literal interpretation, we have said that perhaps the laying
of a symbolic corner stone, and the erection of a "caravan" or temporary
structure could suffice. But this is merely cautious human reasoning,
and not to be taken as dogma.
Obviously, Paul could not have remotely understood that the "man of
sin" would imply a "pope of Rome!" The Catholic Church was not even
embryonic at the time Paul wrote. It would not begin to emerge until
centuries later, after a gradual period of apostasy.
To Paul, those such as Simon Magus, who "said they are Jews and are
not" (Revelation 3:9) might have been implied. For the temple was
JEWISH, after all.
In order for the "man of sin," or the "Antichrist" to "sit in the
temple of God" proclaiming that he IS God, there must be a temple built!
Why The Jews Want To
Build A Temple
Remember, the Orthodox Jews, and many other Jewish sects, totally
reject Christ as the "Messiah." To them, they are still living in the
days of the prophecies of the Old Testament relating to Christ's FIRST
coming! They hope continually for the arrival of their Messiach Ben
David, or the "anointed One."
Therefore, when they study the prophecy of Haggai 1:4, it is a rebuke
to them, now! " Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled
houses, and this house lie waste?"
When they read, "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall
prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly
come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight
in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
"But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he
appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:
"And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall
purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they
may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.
"Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the
LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years" (Malachi 3:1-4), it
is to them a prophecy that the Messiah will soon come — but that He
CANNOT COME UNTIL A TEMPLE IS BUILT!
In "The Temple Institute" in Jerusalem is a breathtaking collection
of vessels and artifacts, among them a replica of the "Ark of the
Covenant" which is said to be the most accurate representation ever. The
Temple Institute has published a full-color, table-top book entitled
The Odyssey of the Third Temple, which is elaborately illustrated,
and which tells the story of the temple from the most ancient sources,
as well as details the plans underway for the construction of the third
Temple.
The overleaf of the jacket says, "In this captivating and detailed
work, the scholars of the Temple Institute reveal the beauty, majesty
and holiness of the Holy Temple in an unprecedented manner.
"The Odyssey of the Third Temple emphasizes the central role
which the Holy Temple occupies in the life of the Jewish people and all
mankind. It also clearly demonstrates how the commandment of God to
build the Temple is the central theme of Judaism.
"More than any other previously published work, Odyssey proves
that the eternal commandment to build the Holy Temple is alive and well
in Jerusalem... waiting to be fulfilled by the Jewish people.
"The twelve chapters are accompanied by hundreds of breathtaking
illustrations, and many of these are the work of talented Jewish
immigrant artists who have joined forces exclusively for this project."
Let there be no doubt that several Jewish organizations are fervently
planning to build a third temple! This is not pseudo-theological,
would-be prophetic hysteria. It is an established fact. In the 1980s,
Yehuda Etzion served a five-year sentence for having plotted to blow up
the mosques on the Temple Mount. Recently, following the assassinations
of the Kahane family, and in the wake of massive demonstrations in
Jerusalem, he said he would attempt to do so (blow up the mosques)
again! Recently, a small group of about 30 fanatic Jews suddenly stormed
the Temple Mount, catching the police by surprise.
There were several fights, and a number of the group were arrested.
Yehuda Etzion was the leader of the group. He said, "It [attempting to
blow up the mosques] was right and it is still right...it will happen.
It must happen. The mosques will not stay on the Temple Mount and the
third temple will stand here..."
When my son interviewed Gershon Solomon of the "Temple Mount
Faithful" he said much the same thing; that the mosques must be
completely destroyed to make way for the temple. Each year for several
years, Solomon and his group have attempted to lay a symbolic corner
stone. Prevented from doing so, they have instead placed the stone on a
flatbed truck, then paraded around the old city, blowing shofars.
Why Some Christians
Believe A Temple Will Be Built
As has been discussed above, some Christians believe a third Temple
will be built (and I am among that number, with certain reservations,
such as the possibility that a completed temple may not be necessary)
before Christ's prophecies will be fulfilled.
Here is a likely series of possible scenarios:
(1) A small group of fanatics, or even a single person, succeeds in
blowing up, or setting fire to the mosques. This would bring about a
violent reaction right across Islam, from Indonesia to Pakistan, and
from Iran to Egypt. A massive war could break out. Saddam Hussein has
said he will be involved. Iran, Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Egypt all
possess missiles which can hit targets in Israel. Such missiles could
contain chemical and/or biological agents.
(2) If massive loss of life occurs (and the specter of gassing Jews
is too hideous for Israel and many in Europe to contemplate), the big
powers would be instantly involved. Israel would retaliate by using
nuclear weapons against Arab population centers.
(3) If the US is either too weak, too overextended elsewhere, or too
reluctant to become involved, the now-building all-European
rapid-response force might invade the Mideast to bring the war to a
halt. In the fighting, the European army and air force may well have to
force Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other countries to capitulate. Would
Russia stand silently by? Or would the Russians become involved in a
nuclear exchange against the US?
(4) The pope (will John Paul soon retire?) will reveal that secret
plans have long been formed for a kind of "second Vatican" to be
established in old Jerusalem; that the military forces in Israel at that
time (either UN, or all-European army in the wake of UN collapse) would
guarantee Israel's security, and the pope's safety.
(5) The pope moves to Jerusalem, occupying the Temple Mount, either
in a temple, or a temporary structure, thus fulfilling 2 Thessalonians
2.
(6) Could a huge statue be erected, which is one of the facets of the
creation of the "image of the beast"? Which great religion believes in
speaking, bleeding, weeping statues? Could such an image appear to
"speak"?
(7) Would a man who "brought peace at last" to the Mideast be hailed
as a kind of incarnation of God? Would he masquerade as the "prince of
peace" or the "messiah"?
(8) What if the next pope were a Jew?
(9) What if he claimed the title "Sixtus the sixth"?
In such a war, literally millions would die. The death toll could
climb quickly far beyond the number of deaths in World War II! Whole
cities would be laid waste; hundreds of thousands or a million and more
killed in an instantaneous nuclear blast.
There are many scenarios one can imagine in connection with Daniel
11:40-44, and 2 Thessalo-nians the second chapter. Some, or most, may be
purely fanciful. Nevertheless, when one hears that a new hit film in
Israel called Hahesder, or "Time of Favor," features a plot by
ultra-religious Jews to blow up the mosques on the Temple Mount, and
when one hears that two former heads of the security service in Israel,
Shin Bet, have warned Prime Minister Ehud Barak about just such
an eventuality, one does, indeed, sit up and take notice!
As Christ said, "Watch ye therefore, and pray always,
that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall
come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man" (Luke 21:36).
q
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Is GLOBAL WARMING real?
...Is it a threat to mankind?
"Global warming" has become a political football.
Environmentalists loudly decry the despoiling of the natural environment
by logging, mining, and oil exploration; cry out against the rape of the
Brazilian Rain Forest; and sometimes attack the owners of SUVs for
driving "big gas guzzling" vehicles. Others say there is no way puny man
can make that much difference; that the earth is easily able to absorb
just about all the punishment man can dish out, and still recover with
little difficulty. Is our earth in danger, or are the environmentalists
merely "tree-hugging wackos" who don't know what they are talking about?
by Garner Ted Armstrong
Everyone knows the earth has gradually warmed up since the ice
ages. The plunging valleys of Switzerland and sheets of bare rock in
Canada and Minnesota, as well as many other places on earth present mute
testimony to mighty glaciers that once scoured the earth.
In North America, the vast inland basins in the Rockies; the Great
Lakes region, and many other topographical features prove that huge
inland seas and lakes once contained millions of cubic feet of water
which is now gone. For example, The "Great Salt Lake" is now but a tiny
saline puddle in the bottom of the ancient "Lake Bonneville" which had a
shoreline many thousands of miles long.
But is the gradual drying and warming of the earth so subtle that
mankind cannot observe its effects? Does it take place so slowly that it
requires many thousands, or even millions of years to be detected? Is
modern technology causing global warming?
What The Scientists Are Saying
All during the 1960s and into the early 1970s, I attended many of the
conferences of the National Association for the Advancement of Science
which were conducted in major cities like Boston, Dallas, Washington
D.C., and New York. I conducted interviews for my television programs
with many of the most prominent scientists who spoke of air, solid, and
water pollution. During the 1960s I was in the forefront of those
decrying industrial pollution, toxic waste dumping, and the destruction
of arable land by urban sprawl.
Thankfully, many of the most obnoxious and shameful examples of
pollution which existed then, such as the time when the Cuyahoga River
caught fire (that's right! A river became so choked with petroleum and
petrochemical wastes that it caught fire, and the flames wrecked a steel
bridge across it), and the salmon and sea-run rainbows quit migrating up
the Willamette River in Oregon, were eventually cleaned up.
Little by little, public outcry over toxic waste dumps, accidental
spillages, or deliberate dumping of chemicals into rivers brought many
outrageous polluters into the light of day, and steps were taken to
enforce antipollution laws.
However, the problems of massive pollution have not been solved. To
this day, there are hundreds of toxic waste sites, some of them beneath
the soil of neighborhoods where children live and play, which present
dangerous health hazards.
But solid and water pollution aside for the moment, is there any
truth to the scientist's claim that the emission of CO2 and dozens of
other chemical compounds into the air is damaging the globe?
Up front, one should realize that the scientists who have attended
the many international conferences on global warming do not represent
any particular political bloc. While it is true many such conferences
have been under the auspices of the United Nations, and while it is also
true that the United States has come in for a seemingly unfair share of
the blame (mostly because of its size and advanced technology), one must
remember that those who participate in such conferences are not
politicians. They have no political axe to grind — they are not running
for any office, and are not asking for votes.
As recently as the third week in January, 2001, a group of such
scientists reported that the continued burning of fossil fuels in the
new century will be the "dominant influence" on our climate. There are
methods of measurement. Samples of air taken from Antarctica to Los
Angeles, and from Tokyo to Trondheim prove that the rate of CO2
concentration has been rising by 4% each decade. What are the
governments of the world doing about it? Almost nothing. For example,
when representatives of most of the world's governments met in the Hague
in November, 2000, they eventually signed an agreement to cut carbon
dioxide emissions by as much as 5.5% over the next century! But
scientific studies strongly indicated that, to protect the earth's ozone
layer, at least a 60% reduction is needed.
Can man in fact have such an impact on our earth that he can alter
weather patterns?
Deserts, Oceans And Forests
There are many fanciful theories about lost civilizations. Some say
there are lost cities beneath the sands of the Sahara Desert. Others say
Atlantis is "out there somewhere" beneath the waters which bear its
name. But fables aside, it is true that deforestation does in fact alter
climatic patterns. The famous "Yellow River" in China is yellow because
it carries massive tonnages of silt from the vast Asian continent due to
the thousands of years of deforestation.
Ancient petrified logs in the Sahara prove it was once forested. The
amount of deposition of silt onto river deltas can be measured. The
major rivers of the earth continue to scour topsoil from the continents
as they have for thousands of years. The "dust bowl" of the 1930s was
due to massive deforestation and ploughing up the topsoil of the
American Midwest. Had agriculturists not learned better methods of soil
conservation, the entire region would be a desert today.
When Thor Heyerdhal and his crew drifted from the Mediterranean to
South America in their papyrus raft over three decades ago, they
reported that they were never out of sight of at least some pollutants;
cans, bottles, plastic, garbage, trash from the rivers, bays and
estuaries; from the thousands of ships plying the seas — oil spills;
their journey across the vast Atlantic showed them that the billions of
humans on the earth can indeed have an impact.
Consider the vast Amazonian rain forest, the famed Matto Grosso
of Brazil.
For decades, the Brazilian government has been "developing" the
Amazon. Mining, logging, clearing of land for grazing have already
deforested vast tracts of pristine rain forest. But what's the problem?
Believe it or not, the vast Brazilian Amazon plays a vital role not only
in the southern hemisphere, but in the world as a whole. Hydrology,
climate, biodiversity (thousands of the earth's rarest species live
there) and the mid-Atlantic ocean are all affected. The mighty Amazon
river dumps billions of gallons of fresh water into the Atlantic which
can be detected for hundreds of miles out to sea. Scouring the basin,
denuding it of trees, forming massive tailings from mining, and the
leeching out of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides into the
creeks and rivers means additional pollutants dumped into the river each
year.
A current Brazilian government program, called "Advance Brazil," will
result in only 28% of the world's largest forest remaining untouched.
Scientists point out that the soil beneath the double-canopy rain forest
is extremely poor, having been scoured by uncounted centuries of heavy
rains. Agriculture which replaces sawn down and uprooted forest is
nowhere near so productive as grasslands, such as in the American high
plains and Midwest.
At the present rate, about 8,000 square miles of forest is
disappearing each year!
Our Earth Is Finite
You and I live on a beautiful, blue-green space ship. We are on a
journey through space on our ship, which is only a tiny little speck of
bright light when seen from space. Each year, our space ship spins
around on its axis approximately 365 times, while each lunar month, our
moon orbits around the earth. The two of them journey around the sun in
one year.
The three spheres of the earth are the atmosphere, the lithosphere,
and the bathysphere.
All three are very greatly impacted by man. There is no new air being
created. Air is made up of oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, helium, and
many other gases. Every cubic inch of air contains particulate
matter—much of it pollutants. The most common pollutant is dust.
While it seems a small matter to think that a housewife using hair
spray in Burbank can affect the atmosphere in any way, one has only to
consider that there are tens of millions of such spray cans being used
at the same time. Does "smog" exist in Los Angeles and other major
cities? Having lived in the Los Angeles basin for over thirty years, I
can tell you that I well remember the very beginnings of detectable smog
back in the middle and late 1940s. I also well remember being able to
see and smell it at 35,000 feet the moment I would cross the Colorado
River on the border between Arizona and California! Ahead of us would be
what appeared to be an ocean of white, with many islands protruding
above it. In reality, the "islands" were the tops of the Sierra Madre
mountains, and the "ocean" was a thick, impenetrable layer of smog.
"Smog" is a derivative of smoke and fog. Actually, it is
"photo-chemical" smog, which is produced when millions of tons of carbon
monoxide and other gases are released into the air and are then cooked
into different compounds by the sun. You can both smell and "taste"
smog. It burns your eyes, stings your throat, and contributes heavily to
various pulmonary diseases.
On some occasions, a severe "smog alert" can force factories to shut
down.
I well remember on a few occasions when I was piloting a fan jet
Falcon back to Burbank from points east, looking at that blanket of
smog, and asking an Air Traffic Controller, not without a touch of
sarcasm, "Is anyone still alive down there?"
A common weather report would be "Clear, visibility two miles." This
is seemingly a contradiction in terms. However, on many a day in June,
we would have to shoot ILS landings (flying entirely on instruments,
unable to see the airport).
Smog is caused by people. When temperature inversions occur, as they
often do (when a warmer layer of air is superposed over a cooler layer
on the ground), all the gases from factories and millions of internal
combustion engines being spewed into the air are trapped. The daily
inflow of cooler sea air causes a west to east flow, which in turn traps
the gases between the ocean and the mountains which form a kind of
barrier to the north and east of Los Angeles.
Presto! Photo chemical smog. Reams could be written about the choking
air pollution in the earth's major cities, like London and Tokyo. The
point is made merely to illustrate that all gases which are emitted,
whether from millions upon millions of spray cans or tens of millions of
automobiles and air conditions, the gases have to go someplace.
I well remember producing many television programs in which I cited
how smog actually contributed to the erosion of brick; how it affected
the paint on homes and automobiles; how it contributed to asthma,
emphysema, and other respiratory ailments.
It is simply not true that man makes no impact whatever on his
environment.
Does Bible prophecy say anything about such things as air, water and
solid pollution, or global warming? You be the judge.
When Jesus Christ was asked about the signs on earth which would
signal that His second coming was near, He warned, "And ye shall hear of
wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these
things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:
and there shall be famines, and pestilences [disease
epidemics, which follow in the wake of famine], and earthquakes, in
divers places.
"All these are the beginning of sorrows" (Matthew 24:6-8).
Great drought and famine are to be a part of the coming
tribulation. This is not necessarily brought about by Divine fiat,
although God has done so in the past, and can certainly do so in the
future. For example, during the very time when the great false prophet
is "sitting in the temple of God claiming to be God," the two
witnesses will be prophesying in Jerusalem.
Notice what they will do: "And I will give power unto my two
witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore
days, clothed in sackcloth.
"These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing
before the God of the earth.
"And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth,
and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in
this manner be killed.
"These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of
their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to
smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will" (Revelation
11:3-6).
A major feature of the coming tribulation will be drought and
famine. God says, "And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in
all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not
returned unto me, saith the LORD.
"And also I have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet
three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and
caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and
the piece whereupon it rained not withered.
"So two or three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but
they were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the
LORD.
"I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and
your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the
palmerworm [caterpillars] devoured them: yet have ye not returned unto
me, saith the LORD" (Amos 4:6-9).
Major droughts have occurred all over the world from time immemorial.
However, with ever-expanding populations coupled with political
upheavals, not all famine is drought related.
When US troops were sent into Somalia, it was in an attempt to
relieve massive privation and starvation because of regional wars
between clashing warlords. Even though the US and several other nations
were attempting massive airlifts of food to starving tens of thousands,
the fighting precluded efficient distribution of the supplies to those
starving thousands, who were isolated.
Famine can be caused by warfare, when large civilian populations are
uprooted from their homes, and choke the roads as refugees.
Many of the horrifying plagues described in the book of Revelation
are a combination of God's wrath upon rebellious, sinning mankind and
man's own inventions.
Today, rogue nations such as Iraq are feverishly working on weapons
of mass destruction, including chemical, biological, and nuclear
weapons. The use of such weapons may well be described by several of the
famous "trumpet plagues" of Revelation: Notice, "And the first went, and
poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and
grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon
them which worshipped his image.
"And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became
as the blood of a dead man; and every living soul died in the sea.
"And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and
fountains of waters; and they became blood.
"And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord,
which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
"For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast
given them blood to drink; for they are worthy" (Revelation 16:2-6).
Notice another example: "And he opened the bottomless pit; and there
arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the
sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
"And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto
them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
"And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the
earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men
which have not the seal of God in their foreheads [neutron bombs emit
deadly rays which horribly injure and kill, yet do not damage trees or
structures].
"And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that
they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the
torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man [is this poison gas, or
chemicals?].
"And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and
shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
"And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto
battle [anciently, horses in battle array wore metal masks and skirts];
and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces
were as the faces of men.
"And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the
teeth of lions.
"And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the
sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running
to battle [John wrote what he saw. Did he see modern helicopters,
with men wearing round helmets, rockets flaming from their wings, and
hear the sound of roaring engines?].
"And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in
their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months [this sounds
like the effects of poison gas, or biological weapons which cause
disease].
"And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless
pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek
tongue hath his name Apollyon [Satan]" (Revelation 9:2-11).
It is obvious from the prophecies of your Bible that many of the
effects of the plagues detailed in Revelation are caused by man himself,
waging war on his fellow man.
The "Catch 22" Of Development vs. Environment
By now, we all know about the rolling blackouts in California because
of huge demand and not enough electricity; about serious power outages
here and there around the country due to ice storms. For every effect,
there is a cause.
The cause of power outages in California is the lack of
sufficient energy-producing plants. One has only to study the history of
environmentalists' successes (from their point of view) against mining,
oil drilling, and the construction of nuclear and coal-burning electric
energy plants to arrive at the obvious conclusions.
First, California's population has exploded in recent decades. Not
only have millions of new Californians been born, grown up, married, and
had children, but millions of others have swarmed into the state from
all over the country, and from around the world. Vast numbers of
Koreans, Chinese, Japanese, Cambodians, Laotians, Vietnamese, east Asian
Indians, Pakistanis, Arabs, Central Americans and Mexicans have poured
into the southland. Today, whole cities in the Los Angeles region are
predominantly Asian. Many towns have virtually no English signs. Driving
through Temple City, San Gabriel and West Los Angeles, among many
others, is like a trip through Seoul, Korea. All these people demand the
90 some energy slaves available to the modern household.
When I attended the conferences in Los Angeles held by then Governor
Reagan dealing with air, water, and solid pollution, I heard the
President of the California Edison company state the catch 22 situation
quite succinctly.
Speaking of the rapidly-growing need for additional electrical power
supply, he said, "Be it ever so humble, there is no place...."
He then proceeded to detail how the environmentalists and tens of
thousands of outraged citizens in various neighborhoods had gone to
court to prevent his company from building the power plants needed to
provide energy. "Go ahead and build your huge coal-burning, gas-emitting
plant," they said, "because we need the electricity. But don't dare
put it in OUR part of the State!"
One has only to study the incredible fight which ensued over the
construction of the San Onofre Nuclear Plant to understand exactly what
he was talking about.
So the environmentalists won. Today, the "tree huggers" can
contemplate the fruits of their victory as they look about in dismay,
watching all the food in their refrigerators and freezers rot, and the
price of energy skyrocket.
California has not added a single electrical energy plant in decades!
Now, consumers are looking at up to FOUR HUNDRED PER CENT hikes in their
electric bills, and California has had to buy energy from other
companies, meanwhile, deciding who gets what amount of electrical power.
The dairy industry was hard hit; cows could not be milked; milk could
not be refrigerated and processed. Milk dumping occurred, as well as a
steep spike in prices.
Today, the US is approximately 50 percent dependent upon foreign oil;
much of it from nations which are antagonistic toward America because of
our support for Israel. We could be completely self-sufficient in oil,
and even an oil exporter, except for the fact that purely political
considerations have led American administrations to purchase oil from
the Arab nations in an effort to placate them because of America's
support for Israel.
We all know the Gulf War was "about oil."
It is very dangerous for the United States to be dependent
upon real or potential enemies for its energy supplies! As you know, the
new Bush administration seeks to overturn rules preventing further oil
exploration off the continental shelves in the gulf of Mexico, offshore
California, and in a vast wildlife preserve in Alaska.
Obviously, we cannot continue in the direction we have been going.
America cannot become 80, 90, or 100 percent dependent upon real and
potential enemies for our energy supplies.
Earth-worshiping environmentalists are at one extreme of the debate,
while rapacious polluters who think only of profits are at the other
extreme. The truth, and the solution, is somewhere in the middle. God
has given this good, green earth into our hands. He has told us to
"dress it and keep it." It IS possible to utilize the earth's resources
and to protect and preserve the environment. There are many
classic cases; old mines have been converted into pristine fishing
lakes; clear-cut forests have been replanted, and millions of little
Douglas Firs have become mature; the steelhead once again migrate up the
Willamette River in Oregon, and the Cuyahoga River has been greatly
cleaned up. The Caribou migrate along their ancient routes, finding that
the Alaskan pipeline has been raised here and there to permit their
passage.
The United States is the most blessed country in the world in terms
of natural resources. If our citizens would turn to God with all our
hearts, and observe HIS LAWS, not only His spiritual laws, but His laws
for the preservation of our fields and forests (yes, he lays down laws
concerning the environment, too!), we would continue to be the most
blessed land on earth. q
_________________________________________
On April 15th, as established long ago by the "Council
of Nicaea" in 325 AD, millions in the Christian-professing world will be
celebrating "Easter" at sunrise, amid fertility symbols. Why would
anyone who believes in Jesus Christ be doing such a thing?
by Garner Ted Armstrong
On April 15th, 2001, the pope will no doubt be once
again saying "Happy Easter" in more than a dozen languages to millions
around the world. Millions will arise at 3:00 or 4:00 a.m., awaken
sleepy children, bundle into automobiles or on trams and buses, and make
their way to huge outdoor arenas, or to hill and mountain top venues
beneath huge crosses, there to await the first rays of the rising sun.
As they face to the East at sunrise, they will believe they are
commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ!
Ironically, at precisely this same time, witches and Satanists who
practice "wicca" will be cavorting about, celebrating as such people
have always done for thousands of years before Christ. To them, and
ancient pagans like them, they celebrate the "goddess of fertility and
sexual reproduction," called everything from Oestara to Ishtar,
from Isis to Venus, and from Aphrodite to Diana. "Her" names are myriad,
and they vary only according to the myths associated with the "deity"
(who never existed except in the fertile imagination of stupid, ignorant
pagans) of springtime.
Anciently, her real name was Semiramus, and she was at once the
mother and the wife of Nimrod, the famous hunter who was the first to
gather people together into cities.
Where did the world get the term "Easter"? Is it the opposite of "Wester"?
Many may think it has something to do with the fact that sunrise
services are conducted on that day, and, since the sun appears to rise
in the East (it does not; the earth rolls toward it, and the sun remains
stationary), they may think, since they are facing in an "easterly"
direction that this is the origin of the word. Wrong. Hislop says, "What
means the term Easter itself? It is not a Christian name. Easter is
nothing else than Astarte, one of the titles of Beltis, the queen
of heaven, whose name, as pronounced by the people of Nineveh, was
evidently identical with that now in common use in this country.
"That name, as found by Layard on the Assyrian monuments is Ishtar."
(The Two Babylons, Hislop, p. 103).
Should millions of pagan Babylonians, Assyrians, Egyptians, Greeks,
Romans, Druids or Germans be brought back to life from the pre-Christian
era, and observe the splendor of an Easter sunrise service, they would
immediately be delighted to see that their ancient practices have been
maintained down into a modern age of lunar landings and nuclear weapons!
Observing the eggs, rabbits, hot cross buns and bright springtime
colors, they would be not only delighted, but would feel right at home
alongside Baptists, Methodists, Episcopalians, Lutherans,
Congregationalists, members of the Church of Christ, and Catholics.
Ishtar, or Semiramus, the mother-wife of Nimrod, was the
inventor of the ancient pagan "mystery" religion. She was the first
"Madonna with child," as Satan paved the way long prior to Christ with
any number of similar phenomena. Writing about the "virgin mother" or
the "Madonna," Hislop says, "In the natural course of events, the mother
came to be worshipped along with the child, yea, to be the favourite
object of worship To justify this worship...that mother, of course, must
be raised to divinity, and divine powers and prerogatives ascribed to
her...He was called Belus, `the Lord;' she, Beltis, `My
Lady'... he, as the sun-god, was called Beel-samen, `Lord of
Heaven;' she, as the Moon-goddess, Melkat-ashemin, `Queen of
Heaven.'" (ibid. P. 264).
God issued a blistering indictment against the Jews for their
adoration of Isis, or Astarte, or Seminamus, the "Queen of
Heaven." As did the pagans, the Jews were making little "cakes" perhaps
shaped, as present-day French rolls, as a "croissant," (crescent), in
honor of the moon goddess. They may have then, and many cultures
certainly have later, placed a sugary "cross" on the little cake,
calling it a "hot cross bun." The word "bun" was orginally bou,
bous, or boun, and stood for "Horus," the bull, or Nimrod.
God said, "Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up
cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not
hear thee.
"Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the
streets of Jerusalem?
"The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the
women knead their dough [it was a warm, cuddly `family' occasion, with
everyone taking part!], to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to
pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to
anger.
"Do they provoke me to anger? saith the LORD: do they not provoke
themselves to the confusion of their own faces?
"Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, mine anger and my fury
shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon
the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall
burn, and shall not be quenched" (Jeremiah 7:16-20). If you are a
housewife, contemplating your cookbook for "Easter specials" this year,
thinking to make "hot cross buns" as a delicacy to go with your roast
goose or other meal, you should study this scripture, and all else
connected with "Easter" very carefully. Easter is pagan to the core. God
HATES to see the name of His Son Jesus Christ superposed over rotten,
pagan practices!
God commands us, "Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the
heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are
dismayed at them" (Jeremiah 10:2). Easter is another of the pagan sun
worshiper's observances of the "signs of heaven," meaning the perceived
movements of the sun and moon; in this case the Vernal Equinox, and the
signs of spring.
Rabbits were used as symbols of fertility because of their very short
gestation period; eggs have always been a pagan symbol of life and
reproduction. For the full story, call or write immediately for my free
booklet, Should Christians Observe EASTER, or the PASSOVER?
q
_________________________________________
Just Sue Me
I don't know any newspaper people who think like this. Hats
off to Mr. Gholson:
From the TIMES RECORD NEWS, Wichita Falls, Texas: By: NICK
GHOLSON
Some people, it seems, get offended way too easily. I mean, isn't
that what all this prayer hullabaloo is all about — people getting
offended? Those of us in the majority are always tippy-toeing around,
trying to make sure we don't step on the toes or hurt the feelings of
the humorless. And you can bet there's a lawyer standing on every corner
making sure we don't.
Take this prayer deal. It's absolutely ridiculous. Some atheist goes
to a high school football game, hears a kid say a short prayer before
the game and gets offended.
So he hires a lawyer and goes to court and asks somebody to pay him a
whole bunch of money for all the damage done to him. You would have
thought the kid kicked him in the crotch. Damaged for life by a
30-second prayer?
Am I missing something here?
I don't believe in Santa Claus, but I'm not going to sue somebody for
singing a Ho-Ho-Ho song in December. I don't agree with Darwin, but I
didn't go out and hire a lawyer when my high school teacher taught his
theory of evolution.
Life, liberty or your pursuit of happiness will not be endangered
because someone says a 30-second prayer before a football game. So
what's the big deal? It's not like somebody is up there reading the
entire book of Acts.
They're just talking to a God they believe in and asking him to grant
safety to the players on the field and the fans going home from the
game.
"But it's a Christian prayer," some will argue. Yes, and this is the
United States of America, a country founded on Christian principles. And
we are in the Bible Belt. According to our very own phone book,
Christian churches outnumber all others better than 200-to-1. So what
would you expect somebody chanting Hare Krishna?
If I went to a football game in Jerusalem, I would expect to hear a
Jewish prayer. If I went to a soccer game in Baghdad, I would expect to
hear a Muslim prayer. If I went to a Ping-Pong match in China, I would
expect to hear someone pray to Buddha. And I wouldn't be offended. It
wouldn't bother me one bit. When in Rome...
"But what about the atheists?" is another argument. What about them?
Nobody is asking them to be baptized. We're not going to pass the
collection plate. Just humor us for 30 seconds. If that's asking too
much, bring a Walkman or a pair of ear plugs. Go to the bathroom. Visit
the concession stand.... Call your lawyer.
Unfortunately, one or two will make that call. One or two will tell
thousands what they can and cannot do. I don't think a short prayer at a
football game is going to shake the world's foundations. Nor do I
believe that not praying will result in more serious injuries on the
field or more fatal car crashes after the game. In fact, I'm not so sure
God would even be at all these games if he didn't have to be.
That's just one of the downsides of omnipresence. If God really liked
sports, the Russians would never have won a single gold medal, New York
would never play in a World Series and Deion Sanders' toe would be
healed by now.
Christians are just sick and tired of turning the other cheek while
our courts strip us of all our rights. Our parents and grandparents
taught us to pray before eating, to pray before we go to sleep. Our
Bible tells us just to pray without ceasing. Now a handful of people and
their lawyers are telling us to cease praying.
God, help us.
And if that last sentence offends you-well......just sue me.
q
_________________________________________
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