Vol. 6, No. 4 - 21st Century WATCH - 2003
When Will They Admit Who Is Really Responsible For Global Terrorism?
By Garner Ted Armstrong
Surely, one would think the hideous truck bombing of UN headquarters in Baghdad would have supplied officialdom with the naked truth about just who is really behind the vicious mass murder.
Wrong.
The governments of this world, including those of Britain and the United States, have swallowed the incredible lie that Islam is a “religion of peace,” which seeks only to experience love, brotherhood, dignity and prosperity; that it is a compassionate religion of charity and non-violence. Somehow, lurking in the midst of all these good-hearted, peace-loving Islamic people are little groups of “fanatics” who try to cloak themselves in the religion, but who, like the KKK or White Supremacists and American Nazis who cloak themselves in both the flag and the Bible, are aberrations, exceptions, and not the normal Islamic convert.
Always, when officialdom seeks to place the blame, they name any of the dozens of terrorist organizations. It was the Hamas, or Islamic Jihad, or Al Aksa Martyr’s Brigade, or Black September, or Al Quaeda and Bin Laden, or Hizbollah, or one of the other dozens of such organizations. All of these, they say, are “evil people” who have evil political and social motives.
They demand that Israel get out of the West Bank and Gaza. They demand that the “Great Satan,” the United States, get out of Afghanistan and Iraq. They resent the presence of the Western military coalition in Iraq. Always, the media informs us, the goals of these “evil” people are social and political. They are wrong.
The bombing of UN headquarters in Baghdad should serve to wake up those who cling to the false notion that suicide bombings come from poverty, squalor, frustration, hopelessness, and anger stemming from the Israeli “occupation” of Palestine, along with US military incursions into the Middle East.
Always before, it was the “cannon fodder” of fanatical Islamists, their hateful zeal fanned by the imams in the mosques, who were sent out by their leaders to perish for the cause. Sometimes they were like so many vagabonds from Saudi Arabia, as in the case of the hijackers of 9/11, funded by Saudi millionaires. Sometimes, they were young women, whose families were promised bonuses by Saddam Hussein if they boarded Israeli buses and blew themselves up, or young teenage men, who strode into shopping centers in downtown Jerusalem, killing themselves, and as many women and children as they could.
The latest bloody carnage was wreaked upon both Jerusalem and the UN building in Iraq by two separate suicide bombers, who are nevertheless linked, no matter which one of the dozens of terrorist organizations eventually “takes credit” for the hideous mass murders.
Consider: The UN has consistently attempted to thwart any “unilateral action” of the United States against Iraq. Even as war clouds darkened, and the George Bush ultimatum neared its final expiry, the UN demanded “more time,” more resolutions, more time (months and months of it) for Hans Blix and his ilk to “do their work.”
The top level members of the UN, France and Germany, along with Russia and China, decried the impending US invasion, and did everything they could to block it, even sending top level diplomats to see Hussein personally at the eleventh hour.
But the war came, and the US and Britain, along with the so-called “coalition of the willing” (who were all but invisible during the war) wiped out Saddam’s vaunted Republican Guard, sent Saddam and his henchmen underground, fleeing for their lives, and occupied the country.
Guerilla attacks are completely understandable — needing no more justification than nationalism; supporters of the Baathist Party and Saddam; former Iraqi military and the palace guard doing what they can to retaliate in a futile attempt to force the US occupiers to go home.
But a huge truck bomb blasting the UN building?
Notice what UN officials decided concerning security. One Salim Lone, the UN spokesman in Baghdad admitted the UN “'did not want a large American presence outside.”
No unsightly M1-A1 Abrams Tanks; no Bradley fighting vehicles; no Humvees with armed US troops. Oh, no. The humanitarian do-gooders of the UN could not afford to commit such an effrontery to their beloved “Iraqi People” as to appear they had anything to do with the war; that they either approved of it, or the occupation which followed.
They made a big mistake.
Why officials in the Bush Administration cannot face reality is utterly mystifying. The reality came in the videotaped statement of the vicious suicide bomber who boarded that bus in Jerusalem. The video showed the man, who had a Master’s degree in education, and who was a high school teacher, holding an AK-47 in one hand, and the Koran in the other! Only a blithering fool can deny the connection. Apparently, there are plenty of those in the UN, and in many a national government which struggles against terrorism.
During the latter months of World War II, thousands of fanatic young Japanese became suicide pilots, flying the “Oka,” a flying bomb, along with several types of other aircraft, including bomb-laden Zeros, against the massed US fleet off Okinawa. Their parents proudly made shrines in their homes of their pictures, cutting off their hair and fingernails; decorated white hair bands with slogans of devotion to the Emperor as a direct descendant of the Sun God, and their own blessing and swelling pride in what their sons were about to do.
After all, as they took out as many of the hated “Gaijin” (Foreign Devils) as they could by their own death, would they not immediately be admitted into heaven?
The other day, the wife of the vicious, hate-filled religious fanatic who disguised himself as an Orthodox Jew and boarded a bus filled with women and children, said she was “very proud” of her husband, who had “martyred himself.” No comment from her on how she felt now that hubby was allegedly in paradise cavorting about with all those young virgins. She was just glad he was there.
The American government did not take the view that we were waging war against only a few fanatical Japanese; that the Japanese people were, by and large, peace-loving, decent people who believed in universal brotherhood. No, we were at war against Germany and Japan! We knew that both populations had been wholly fanatisized by their leaders; that Germany under Hitler was a crazed, fanatical enemy who would not be satisfied until the world lay under its heel; that the Japanese would not be satisfied until the “Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere” had been an accomplished fact.
We did not accept the suicide bombings of US carriers off Okinawa as merely a “temporary detour along the road map to peace,” and issue a statement that even with the loss of many ships and thousands of young American lives, we would bring freedom and prosperity to the Okinawans, and all Japanese. No, we went after their bases. We bombed their homeland.
We destroyed their cities. We dropped Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima (from which many suicide pilots came) and Nagasaki. We destroyed the Japanese war-making industry, and subdued the Japanese people!
The utter devastation of that huge, global struggle so exhausted our enemies that there WAS NO GUERILLA WARFARE against our occupying forces in Germany or Japan! While General MacArthur treated the Japanese people with dignity and respect, and allowed the Emperor to remain, he required the Emperor to broadcast a message to the Japanese people, denying his “divinity.”
Millions of Japanese sobbed and wept as they heard the high-pitched, squeaky, quavering voice of their revered Emperor, Hirohito, admit he was human after all, and call upon them to be subject to MacArthur and his forces.
What a contrast with Iraq! Our forces have so far proved ineffective in finding the bloody tyrant, Saddam Hussein, while managing to kill his two brutal sons, and capture even his “Vice President” just the other day. While Saddam lives, the Baathist party afficionados and other assorted Islamist terrorist groups will continue to wreak all the death and mayhem they can.
Today, the carry out sabotage against their own people; bombing oil pipelines, water mains and infrastructure, while US forces seek to restore such services!
No matter how long US and coalition forces remain in Iraq, the elusive dream of a “Free, Democratic Iraq” will remain as distant as ever.
This morning, I heard yet another retired top-echelon military man tell Fox News, “We must win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people.” Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Democratic Americans “winning the hearts and minds” of Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds? Americans winning the hearts and minds of Muslim Ishmaelite Arabs?
It will never happen.
No matter what kind of coalition government is pieced together by the US forces, the vast majority of the Iraqi people will always shriek that the government is a “puppet of the West!”
How that Iraq has had its military destroyed; much of its Baathist party apparatus dismantled; now that Qusay and Uday are dead; now that no weapons of mass destruction have been found, no matter how intensive the search, what yet remains to be done? Find Saddam, certainly! But will we ever?
Yes, the US military, along with professional law enforcement officials, are attempting to jump start an Iraqi police force. This, in the altruistic notion that the Iraqi people can be controlled by a police force.
But consider: Terrorists now attack terrorists; almost every day. These fanatic, wildly insane murders are now blowing up the very means of survival of their own people, in the perverted hope that a major, massive uprising of the whole civil population will occur, forcing the US and coalition forces out! They will fail, but they will continue their evil work, nevertheless!
What our government, and the western world is not willing to admit is simply this:
ISLAM IS AT WAR WITH AMERICA, Europe and Israel! But we are NOT at war with Islam! The VERY WORST THING AMERICA COULD DO TO IRAQ?
Simply walk away.
If the US were to simply LEAVE Iraq, it would be the ultimate punishment for those who seek to destroy us! Like some poorly matched mates who marry, and of whom others say, “Well, they deserve each other,” we could cynically say, “The Iraqi Islamists and other terrorists deserve each other. Let’s get out, and leave them to their own devices. And when the civil wars erupt, with Kurds, Sunnis and Shias at each other’s throats; with another round of massacres into the hundreds of thousands — after they have exhausted themselves, and attempted to either put together a patchwork government, or divide the region into three countries, called ‘Sunnia,’ ‘Shialand’ and ‘Kurdistan,’ perhaps the world will have been granted another 20 years before we have to go in and conquer them again”!
But we won’t do that. No, we will stay committed, under the aegis of those “poor, suffering Iraqi people,” and the need to make sure Saddam can never return to power, all the while working hard to get that OIL flowing again!
European Islam Breeds Renewed Anti-Semitism
By Michael Burkert
The demographics of Europe are changing. Most Americans and other peoples have no idea as to how wide-open Muslim immigration into Europe will soon change the very character of Europe. Already, France has nearly nine million Muslim immigrants. Over half of them are now French citizens and vote. While France has the largest Jewish population in Europe, Muslims far outweigh any influence that the Jews might once have had. Germany has nearly seven million Muslims extant. The Jewish population has grown somewhat, with immigration from Russia and Poland, yet only 25,000 German Jews live in Germany today.
Recent changes to the immigration and citizenship law in Germany have allowed over a half-million Muslim immigrants to become German citizens. Their power at the ballot box grows every day. Gerhard Schröder was the recipient of eleventh-hour support of the many Muslim voters in the September 2002 national election. They voted for Schröder mostly due to his Christian-Democrat opponent’s stated opposition to continued immigration from the Middle East. Muslims are a single issue-voting block in Germany. Their interest is increased Muslim immigration. Along with the increasing level of Muslims in Europe comes construction of Mosques and Islamic Cultural Centers. Much of the money for this comes from the Saudi royal family.
The Liberal Socialist government of Gerhard Schröder encourages the Muslim faction never giving any thought to what would actually happen in Germany if the Muslim community ever gained the upper hand on this society. Already Muslims are making a difference in the lives of everyday Germans. The culture is being attacked and a Kulturkrieg, or Culture War is in the making. Nominal Christians are at a loss as to what can be done.
The town I live in is Walldorf, in Baden-Würtemberg. It’s the town where the famous John Jacob Astor was born. The home he was born in is long gone, and a bank now sits at the site of the Astor birthplace. Ironically, his home was not far from Judenstrasse, or the “Street of the Jews.” With the exception of the 1933-45 National Socialist era, Judenstrasse has existed in Walldorf since around AD 1245. That may change soon, as the number of Jews in Walldorf is zero. So what’s the number of Muslims? Many. Some estimates place it as high as 8,000. Nobody really knows however, as it’s illegal in Germany to count the numbers of a given religion or sect. This is an offshoot of the post-war denazification program.
There are however, so many Muslims in fact, that the town of Walldorf will soon celebrate the annual “Islam-German Volksfest.” Turks and other peoples from Islamic countries are so abundant that we are now seeing Lebanese Fests, Egyptian Fests, Syrian, Iraqi Fests, and Islam fests. Few Germans attend these “fests,” or festivals. They aren’t welcome. Germans not welcome at fests in their own country, is not going over well. Germans love to party. However the parties that Middle-easterners hold are nothing like German parties. No beer, no sausage, no “Oom Pah” or German music. It’s all Arab, Turk, or whatever the ethnic background is of the fest promoters.
The German nation tolerates the influx of Middle Eastern people because they are loath to having the “Nazi finger” wagged in their faces. Even though the generation extant had nothing to do with Hitler or his National Socialists, Germans continue to squirm at any suggestion that they might not like Muslim immigration to their once great nation, due to National Socialist leanings.
Jews To “Blame” For The Ills Of The Nation
Germany opened the doors to not only Muslim immigration, but also to Jewish immigration. Many Russian Jews have flocked to Germany. A few from Poland, Hungary and other Eastern European nations have immigrated. They find opportunities unavailable in their home countries, and a promise from the German government of jobs, homes, dignity and SOCIAL SECURITY. In Germany, social security is synonymous with welfare. Unemployment benefits are part of the social welfare program that currently is in place in Germany. Jewish immigration has raised the numbers of Jews to the highest level that Germany has seen since the days of Hitler’s “Final Solution.”
It’s inevitable, that the Jews and Muslims will clash in this nation. Already there are ugly incidents of graffiti written on walls of buildings where Jews live that read “JEWS OUT!” Or, “THE JEWS ARE OUR PROBLEM.” No doubt disgruntled Muslims, who haven’t found Germany to be the “Promised Land” after all, perpetrate much of the anti-Semitism.
There also remains a large segment in German society that loathes all foreigners, all ethnic minorities, and all Jews. I have received their literature in the mail delivered to my door by the German postman. Their message is really quite convincing, makes sense, and plays on one’s love of God, nation, and people. I have no doubt that the ranks of such political movements are growing. As unemployment continues to rise, and the government continues to tax more and more, and the floodgates of Muslim immigration remains wide-open, expect the old Nazi movement to grow and prosper.
In the meantime, Saudi money is helping out in the Muslim communities. Islamic cultural centers, Mosques, and Islamic schools are passing out millions of euros in under the table welfare payments to keep Muslims from returning to the lands they vacated. German social security payments apparently aren’t enough. The Saudi government is very interested in raising the numbers of Muslims in Europe, especially in Germany. They’re willing to pay whatever it takes to maintain a large population, which will double in less than ten years, just from the vast propagation of the Muslim community. The average Muslim family in Germany consists of eight children, born in Germany, plus any siblings born in the old country, plus the mother and father. Eight German-born children are the norm for a Muslim immigrant family. That’s eight children, who will grow up in Germany and vote.
The German government guarantees “Kindergeld” or social welfare payments for hundreds of thousands of immigrant Muslim children. How much longer can they continue? Probably not long. With unemployment at this time near 11 percent, imminent crop failures due to the oppressive heat this year, the economic outlook is getting grimmer every day.
Recently, the Imam Mohammed Khalid Al-Rahman stated, “The oppressive heat wave and lack of rainfall is a direct result of the German nation refusing to get tough with Israel.” The Imam went on to lay the blame for the current drought directly on the backs of the Jews.
The sad thing about this is that millions of Muslims take reckless statements like Imam Mohammed’s as pure fact. Even in nominal Christian churches today, on Sunday morning, many Germans will be praying that God punish Israel and restore the rain to Germany. There’s no great love of Jews among most Germans, be they Catholics or Lutherans. Probably there are “religious” Germans who agree with Imam Mohammed that God is punishing Germany for not acting tougher toward Israel.
German Economy Near Rock Bottom
This year 2003, the German economy is predicted to grow at ZERO PERCENT. Given a vast crop failure that will require the import of all feed grains and hay for cattle, hogs and sheep, the economy is in deeper trouble than anyone thought it could be. The barley crop is fast failing, and the German brewing industry will soon be importing both barley and hops in order to continue brewing beer. The potato crop is about burned up as well. Vast acres of potatoes are already being plowed under. All in all, times are not looking so good for Germany.
Muslim immigration continues on its breakneck pace. About 100,000 new Muslim immigrants will arrive from the Middle East before the year is finished. The Muslim population will exceed 7.5 million people by the beginning of 2004. How much longer will the Germans take it?
The last chapter of European history will soon be written. Current trends are indicative that the European Union, as we know it today will not survive much longer. A new Europe will emerge out of the ashes and remnants of today’s EU. The new Europe will consist of ten nations, which may include lesser nations in a vassal state arrangement. An example might be Belgium combined with France to stand as one nation. Or perhaps Germany might once again absorb Austria, under a single nation concept. Whatever the arrangements are, the United States of Europe, or the Holy Roman Empire will consist of 10 kings who will serve under a single ruler, and emporer. Possible a Caesar, or maybe a Kaiser!
All of this will come to pass, as a result of an economic meltdown, great upheaval in Europe, and the establishment of the Beast power. Then, for three and one-half years, the Great Tribulation will be in full swing. Once again, mankind will set a course toward self-annihilation and mass destruction.
As witnesses, we need to start our day with prayer. The first request always should be, “Thy Kingdom Come.” Only the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the establishment of God’s Kingdom on Earth will bring about the final promise of peace on Earth. Man is simply not capable of peace for any length of time. The new spread of Islam into the so-called Christian lands will serve to hasten the day of the Last Trump.
And Now... Terrorists As ‘Insider Traders?’
By Garner Ted Armstrong
If the program had only been initiated earlier, think how the conspiracy theorists would have been shrieking if it had been revealed the Bush and Cheney families had “bet there would be a war in Iraq within two years!”
Now, the U.S. Department of Defense says it will plunge headlong into the stock market, allowing traders to “BET ON THE POSSIBILITY OF FUTURE TERRORIST ATTACKS!”
Let’s see now — just how many contacts, how many sleeper cells, and how much money does Bin Laden have? Naturally, he would assume the vast majority of Americans, and, for that matter, British, Europeans and the rest of the world, would bet their bottom dollar there will be terrorist attacks against America within a reasonable amount of time. The new program, which emulates financial markets, would place Bin Laden and his ilk firmly in control of the entire global economy!
Bin Laden could instruct his sleeper cells as follows: “Step up your ‘chatter’ on cell phones, and via the Internet. Drop hints ‘something big’ is going to take place in Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, Houston, and New York. Keep the chatter going for several months. While you are doing this, billions will come into the market betting a terrorist attack will take place! We will bet hundreds of millions there will be no such attacks! We order you to cease and desist from any attacks during this period! We hereby call a hiatus until after the expiry date on the predictions! Then, we will ATTACK!” Not only will we once more cause a huge shock to the American economy when we destroy major buildings, nuclear power plants, dams, bridges, and military installations, we will reap a HUGE profit from the market!”
Remember how Bin Laden’s cohorts reaped a killing in the market based upon their “insider knowledge” about the upcoming 9/11 attacks?
The concept of letting people “bet” on political trends and conditions, including whether or not a terrorist strike will occur, is simply one of the dumbest, most asinine, idiotic notions to ever come out of government agencies! If stupidity were to cause a rash, those coming up with this idea would be immediately quarantined, suspected of being afflicted with smallpox, chicken pox, German measles and hives all at the same time!
But, believe it or not, the Defense Department intends going ahead with the program!
It is called “The Policy Analysis Market,” which would enable traders to trade, just as in the stock market, buying and selling “futures” about specific political, military, economic, terrorist-related events! It is called the “brainchild” of the Defense Department’s “Advanced Research Project Agency.” Brainchild? More like brainless idiot! “Advanced?” More like ‘hopelessly retarded,” or, in politically-correct double speak, “mentally challenged!”
Allegedly, bidders could “profit on events” such as a potential missile attack by North Korea; the overthrow of Jordan’s king; the assassination of Yassir Arafat, or any other such event, like a repeat of 9/11, or the bombing of a nuclear power plant.
Arguing in defense of this defenseless idea, Defense officials say such a market-based system could provide a “highly accurate assessment of political and civil stability, economic health and military disposition of Middle East countries.” According to a shocking article published by “World Net Daily” (www.wnd.com), a highly recommended Internet news site, the system would also be “designed to shield the identities of traders, and access to their funds is protected.”
That way, the Koreans, using any number of undercover agencies in the US, could spend a few paltry millions, buying up “futures” which say there will be no missile attack within the calendar years of 2004 or 2005, then launch such an attack in January of 2006, after suddenly selling all the previous “futures” and buying different futures which predict an attack within two weeks!
In an unusual response (for a Democrat) to the proposal, Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota said, “I think this is unbelievably stupid...[and] that is a gentle thing to say about a program that is so devoid of value.”
Even a Dem from the most liberal state in the country, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon said, “The idea of a federal betting parlor on atrocities and terrorism is ridiculous and grotesque.” Wyden claimed the Pentagon had already spent over a half million dollars on the project, however.
Their reasoning is that the market has been fairly successful at predicting such things as the outcome of elections, or which summer movie will gross the most at the box office!
Gigantic losses due to fraudulent insider trading and the cooking of books by CEO’s should be sufficient to send a warning to these unconventional dreamers. But are such warnings of any value?
Apparently not, for the program opens to the first 1,000 traders in September!
Pay attention, Bin Laden and Kim Jong Il — also the governments of Syria, Iran, Libya, Sudan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Venezuela might want to send some signals to their interests in the US.
One is not really accustomed to being shown that fools are present in the Pentagon.
By Garner Ted Armstrong
America’s enemies are many. So many, in fact, that it would look like a list of virtually all the nations in the world if I were to include them here, and such a list would have to include many who are viewed by official government doublespeak as “friends and allies,” such as Europe and Saudi Arabia.
But now, quickly on the heels of the threat of North Korean nuclear weapons and ICBM’s, comes word that the rogue Communist dictatorship intends sharing not only technical assistance, but actual nuclear and missile hardware with Iran, described by Khomeini’s own grandson as “the worst dictatorship in the world.”
According to a recent Japanese newspaper, North Korea is now planning to export the actual missiles to Iran, and would begin working “jointly to develop nuclear warheads.”
As I have stated in the past, the United States need not act like the world’s policeman in such a case, notwithstanding the growls and saber-rattling coming from the State Department.
There are other great powers in the region, and a power in the Middle East, who will be forced to respond.
Already, news comes that Russia is upgrading its once mighty fleet; will be sending powerful vessels into the seas around Korea from its base in Vladivostok; that Russia is entering into a significant new “arms race” to counteract an emerging threat from its once cozy cousin, North Korea, which it supported in the Korean war. However, the relationship had cooled as a result of Russia’s commitments to the US and Europe; Russia’s desperate need for western investment and aid.
More importantly, JAPAN will be the regional power which will have to react.
Talks are scheduled for either later this month or September between the US and regional powers such as Japan, Russia and South Korea.
If there was ever a prophecy which describes our shocking headlines of today, it is the prophecy of Jesus Christ – the famous “Olivet” prophecy, in which He outlined the major events which would shape this world as it plunges toward the chaotic “time of the end,” and the GREAT TRIBULATION which is to strike our peoples!
He said, “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” (Matthew 24:5-7).
Already, televised news reports have quoted statements from officials in the State Department who have been speaking of another massive air attack; of how many US troops would be required; of the length of time it would take for the US to overthrow yet another rogue regime.
Do not doubt for a moment that war plans are already drawn up in the Pentagon; that top-secret talks have not already taken place between Japanese, Russian, American and South Korean military leaders. Offices in the Pentagon are no doubt already wrestling with the mountainous details of the logistics of yet another massive air, sea, and land war on the Korean peninsula; which troops would be involved, which aircraft carrier battle groups would be sent; which targets would be bombed; which nuclear submarines would participate; the time involved for cruise missile carrying B-52’s from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, and from staging areas in Guam and Diego Garcia, in the Indian Ocean, to arrive on target at the same time such missiles which were launched from ships and submarines would impact selected targets.
Such threats present very real excuses for Japan to arm itself; to produce nuclear weapons of its own! I have known Japan will become a SUPER POWER, militarily, for decades. The trends and conditions of modern times demand it.
Japan is a “bicycle” economy – having few natural resources of her own, she must import iron, tin, rubber, molybdenum, chromium, and especially OIL, from all over the world. She imports fertilizers from Chile; chromium from South Africa; oil from Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf states.
She imports timber and other products from the United States. This allows Japan to be a modern industrial, exporting economy; to load hundreds of ships jammed with containers filled with automobiles, trucks, buses, heavy machinery; with refrigerators, television sets; computers; radios; cell phones, golf clubs and equipment – a massive outpouring of consumer goods which goes to the US, Canada, Mexico, Europe, the Mid East – everywhere. The streets of Santiago Chile; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Sao Paul, Brazil; or Riyadh, Saudi Arabia buzz with Toyotas, Nissans, Hondas and Kawasakis, as do hundreds of American cities!
Japan cannot afford to see a major nation in the Mid East equipped with the latest IRBM’s and ICBM’s, tipped with nuclear warheads. Such missiles could reach EUROPE, as well as ISRAEL.
For its part, Israel is a nuclear power, equipped with a powerful air force, capable of delivering a nuclear strike. Back in 1981, when the US was unwilling to do anything about Saddam Hussein’s nuclear program, Israel sent a surprise attack against Saddam’s nuclear reactor at Osirak, a suburb of Baghdad, and destroyed it! Flights of American-made F-16’s; half for fighter cover, the other half as bombers, struck the plant with precision, utterly destroying it.
Israel is planning, make no mistake, for every eventuality.
The Israeli government knows it cannot sit on its hands until Tehran possesses the Taepodong II long-range missile, tipped with nuclear warheads! Already, you can be assured, the Israeli military is planning all the logistical requirements for a pre-emptive strike against Iranian targets!
You and I live in a world which is steeping, seething in HATRED; in virulent anger and hostility! Here, we see Buddhists in league with Islam, plying their hateful, Satanic plots together against the Jews in Israel and the nominal Christian West! Most especially, the USA!
How will it all play out?
Will the “talks” coming up in a few weeks cause the mad dictators of North Korea and Iran to back down? Will Japan be feverishly ARMING again; building its own nuclear missiles; putting to sea a nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed navy?
Will the Russians be frantically building up their fleet – sending their nuclear powered, nuclear armed submarines and aircraft carriers to the South China and Yellow seas?
How will CHINA react? Will the tension in the region give China an excuse to invade Taiwan, as it has threatened to do for decades?
Truly, we live in the very times described by Christ, who said, “Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:
“And great earthquakes shall be in divers places [this is a time of unprecedented EARTHQUAKE activity!], and famines [even now stalking many parts of the world!], and pestilences [AIDS, the “West Nile Virus,” Bubonic Plague and the Ebola virus!]; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
“But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake.
“And it shall turn to you for a testimony.
“Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer:
“For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.
“And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.
“And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake.
“But there shall not an hair of your head perish” (Luke 21:10-18).
Yes, there is coming GREAT PERSECUTION against God’s people! Much of it will come from FELLOW CHURCH MEMBERS – even from FAMILY!
Christ said, “And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
“And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 10:21,22).
Jeremiah was a great prophet of God. A great patriot, he lamented the national and personal sins of his people – found it very distasteful that he was commissioned to warn them of their impending national calamities as punishments from God!
When he wrote his first book, the king cynically had it read to him, and, as each section of scroll was unrolled, had it cut off, and thrown into the fire! The book we have today is truly “Jeremiah II,” for Baruch was ordered to write the identical words the second time.
The entire 36th chapter of Jeremiah makes interesting reading: “And it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that this word came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
“Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day.
“It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do unto them; that they may return every man from his evil way; that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin [notice the MOTIVE here! The purpose for the witness and warning was that men and women would TURN AWAY FROM SIN; from sodomy, homosexuality, licentiousness, hedonism, thievery, divorce, murder – from every kind of evil, sinful behavior; would REPENT, and come under the grace and mercy of God!].
“Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah: and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the LORD, which he had spoken unto him, upon a roll of a book.
“And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I am shut up; I cannot go into the house of the LORD:
“Therefore go thou, and read in the roll, which thou hast written from my mouth, the words of the LORD in the ears of the people in the LORD’S house upon the fasting day [The Day of Atonement; see Leviticus 23:27-32]: and also thou shalt read them in the ears of all Judah that come out of their cities.
“It may be they will present their supplication before the LORD, and will return every one from his evil way: for great is the anger and the fury that the LORD hath pronounced against this people [the hoped-for happy outcome was REPENTANCE of the nation!].
“And Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading in the book the words of the LORD in the LORD’S house.
“And it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast before the LORD to all the people in Jerusalem, and to all the people that came from the cities of Judah unto Jerusalem.
“Then read Baruch in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the LORD, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the higher court, at the entry of the new gate of the LORD’S house, in the ears of all the people.
“When Michaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard out of the book all the words of the LORD,
“Then he went down into the king’s house, into the scribe’s chamber: and, lo, all the princes sat there, even Elishama the scribe, and Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, and Elnathan the son of Achbor, and Gemariah the son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the princes.
“Then Michaiah declared unto them all the words that he had heard, when Baruch read the book in the ears of the people.
“Therefore all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, unto Baruch, saying, Take in thine hand the roll wherein thou hast read in the ears of the people, and come. So Baruch the son of Neriah took the roll in his hand, and came unto them.
“And they said unto him, Sit down now, and read it in our ears. So Baruch read it in their ears.
“Now it came to pass, when they had heard all the words, they were afraid both one and other, and said unto Baruch, We will surely tell the king of all these words.
“And they asked Baruch, saying, Tell us now, How didst thou write all these words at his mouth?
“Then Baruch answered them, He pronounced all these words unto me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book.
“Then said the princes unto Baruch, Go, hide thee, thou and Jeremiah; and let no man know where ye be.
“And they went in to the king into the court, but they laid up the roll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and told all the words in the ears of the king.
“So the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll: and he took it out of Elishama the scribe’s chamber. And Jehudi read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes which stood beside the king.
“Now the king sat in the winterhouse in the ninth month: and there was a fire on the hearth burning before him.
“And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth [This was contempt and disdain; cynical disregard for God’s warning].
“Yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words.
“Nevertheless Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had made intercession to the king that he would not burn the roll: but he would not hear them.
“But the king commanded Jerahmeel the son of Hammelech, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet: but the LORD hid them.
“Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, after that the king had burned the roll, and the words which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying,
“Take thee again another roll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first roll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah hath burned.
“And thou shalt say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, Thus saith the LORD; Thou hast burned this roll, saying, Why hast thou written therein, saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease from thence man and beast?
“Therefore thus saith the LORD of Jehoiakim king of Judah; He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David: and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost.
“And I will punish him and his seed and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring upon them, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the men of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against them; but they hearkened not.
“Then took Jeremiah another roll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah; who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire: and there were added besides unto them many like words” (Jeremiah 36:1-32).
Later, after having been placed in stocks twice, Jeremiah was thrown into a slime pit!
The greatest PATRIOT in the country; one who loved his homeland; loved his people; loved God, and loved His word, was faithfully fulfilling his life’s work; that of preaching and writing a witness and a warning to his government and his people in the hopes they could be saved from the impending WAR to come upon them; privation, suffering, torture, captivity, and death!
Instead, he was called a traitor!
Read the entire account: “Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.
‘Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin;
“Ebedmelech went forth out of the king’s house, and spake to the king, saying,
“My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city [they were already under seige – the very predictions of Jeremiah were coming to pass before their eyes, yet many were still in denial!].
“Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die.
“So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah.
“And Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so.
“So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
“Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that is in the house of the LORD: and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me.
“Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me?
“So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As the LORD liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life.
“Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon’s princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house:
“But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand.
“And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me.
“But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the LORD, which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live.
“But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that the LORD hath showed me:
“And, behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah’s house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, and those women shall say, Thy friends have set thee on, and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the mire, and they are turned away back.
“So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans: and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire.
“Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die.
“But if the princes hear that I have talked with thee, and they come unto thee, and say unto thee, Declare unto us now what thou hast said unto the king, hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death; also what the king said unto thee:
“Then thou shalt say unto them, I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan’s house, to die there.
“Then came all the princes unto Jeremiah, and asked him: and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they left off speaking with him; for the matter was not perceived.
“So Jeremiah abode in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken: and he was there when Jerusalem was taken” (Jeremiah 38: 6-28).
Jeremiah was given diplomatic immunity by the conquerors of his country; was permitted to go with Gedeliah into Egypt, taking with him Zedekiah’s daughters, including Tea Tephi, who was to become the wife of King Herremon, in the British Isles. The fascinating story is contained in my book, “Europe and America In Prophecy,” published on our web site, or available in hard copy from our office, by calling (903) 561-7070, and ordering your free copy.
What does this account of Jeremiah have to do with America’s concerns over North Korea and Iran; with my repeated warnings about America’s personal and national sins?
There are some remarkable parallels!
I am a fervent patriot. I believe the documents written by our founding fathers are like a “civil Bible,” for our peoples; that our Constitution was guided by God; that it is the basis of all of our liberties; our laws; our moral values!
I also believe that our constitution is under attack! I see our nation plunging into the morass of hedonism, nihilism, self-indulgence, amorality, crime, divorce, illegitimacy, pornography, homosexuality; that our families are disintegrating, our most important institutions being infiltrated by liberal, anti-American, anti-God factions who seek only personal power!
When the leading candidate for President is to the left of Nikita Khrushchev; when America stands on the brink of eventually electing a leftist, liberal female into the highest office in the land, the prophecy of Isaiah will then come to pass, “As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths” (Isaiah 3:12).
This work is a work of WITNESS AND WARNING; a work of “cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their sins!” (Isaiah 58:1).
And because of this, when the leftists, hedonists, nihilists and anti-God people ascend to the positions of power in this country, God’s work will come under attack! The most patriotic people in the country will be accused of being “anti-American!” The pot will call the kettle black!
Christ said so!
Coming Soon, The New Action “Gay” U.S. Armed Forces
By Michael Burkert
The most profound Supreme Court decision in years has recently been handed-down by that “esteemed body of jurists.” While on the surface, the court’s striking down of Texas’ antisodomy statute might not seem like much, it is a momentous ruling. It was also a ruling that is in direct violation of the Law of God! In keeping with our mission to serve as a witness and a warning, I’ll expound on some of the possible outcomes of this most profound ruling of men.
The unforeseen ramifications of the Supreme Court’s latest outrage are truly mind-boggling. If gay sex is okay now, as long as it’s done in the privacy of one’s home, then what will be next? What will be the next perversion legalized that’s okay,” as long as it’s done in the privacy of one’s bedroom? Many see the legalization of child sex, just around the corner. Others see the lifting of restrictions on “gay” marriage as the next great victory for the Gay Rights Movement. I think that we can count on this to happen and soon. So far, the “conservative” Supreme Court has turned out to be the liberal socialist’s dream!
Already planners are contemplating legalized gay marriage in the armed forces. The trend began when the Clinton’s announced the “don’t ask—don’t tell” policy on homosexuals in the armed forces. That Executive Order altered the two hundred-year policy that forbade homosexuals from serving in the armed forces. Today, gay normalization is in full swing in the military. By today’s rules, a soldier is subject to a court-martial, for making anti-gay comments, or telling a gay joke! Homosexuals have the upper hand in the U.S. Army today, make no mistake about it. They aren’t going to relinquish that upper hand. They are going to increase their powerbase and strengthen it.
That Gay Or Lesbian Couple Next Door
In the armed forces today, normal couples who marry are entitled to a place to live on base, subject to availability. The government provides homes or “quarters” for military families and has done so since the early days of our nation. Currently, a married couple consists of a man and a woman. To obtain government quarters, a man must be married to a woman. This is a fairly simple concept really. However, this will soon change. Already in California, Oregon, Hawaii and Vermont, gay rights has won big victories, in that the state government recognize “same sex” partners for full marital benefits. The Gay Rights Movement is taking a long look at these victories, in hopes that they can force the Armed Forces to accept same-sex partners, who claim residence in one of the “gay friendly states.” While reciprocity doesn’t exist at this time, it is highly likely that as soon as a case challenging the same-sex couples laws in those states noted, the Supreme Court can be counted on to redefine the American family. It may well strike down the barriers that currently preclude so-called “gay” people from “marrying.”
In the military, that means that homosexual and lesbian couples will be eligible for government benefits that currently are allocated only to married couples. Soon, queers in the barracks can move into government family housing and share quarters just like the normal folks. After all, isn’t being gay or lesbian a normal and healthy state of being? The Gay Rights Movement surely wants you to think that.
Naturally, the armed forces will have to accommodate “gay” couples in their assignments, rotations, deployments and career advancement. Any vestige of discrimination against gays and lesbians will not be tolerated. “Homophobes” that liberal-socialist label applied to normal people who simply disagree with the “gay lifestyle” or those opposed to the gay lifestyle will be disciplined and removed from active service. You can be assured that this is the future, not only for the Army, but also for the entire United States Armed Forces.
Satanic Forces Working Overtime
Satanic forces are working hard to bring about gay normalization and mainstreaming. As disturbing as it is, Satan has many friends and allies among men. Take a look at American television and you get a good ideal of the monumental efforts being waged by Satan and his minions to streamline and normalize homosexuality in the entertainment media. Even the Armed Forces Network, AFN that we have available to U.S. Forces around the world is bombarded with a constant stream of “gay this, gay that, it’s so cool to be gay, it’s the gay thing to do, or he’s okay, he’s gay” and on and on. American television is sick; jam packed with smut, filth and disgusting language. MODERN AMERICAN TELEVISION IS JUST PLAIN EVIL! It isn’t funny, it’s evil! Liberal-socialists enjoy poking fun at the old TV programs like “Leave it to Beaver, or “The Andy Griffith Show,” as corny, not realistic, male dominated, homophobic, and a litany of other liberal-socialist condemnation labels. However, it can’t be denied that those old TV programs were FAMILY oriented, and usually taught a moral lesson. A lesson that not only benefited the child or adult family member, but usually the entire community as well.
With the Supreme Court decision, and the legalization of gay sex as the law of the land, what outrageous abominations are next? If the “privacy of the bedroom” argument is pervasive, just about anything will be legal as long as it’s done in the privacy of the bedroom, or one’s own home.
In Europe, there is talk of legalizing marriage between gays, lesbians, cousins, aunts and nephews, uncles and nieces. THERE IS EVEN TALK OF MARRIAGE BETWEEN BROTHERS AND SISTERS. The argument that such unions would create genetically flawed offspring is countered by the abortion trump card. So far, the major European newspapers have yet to champion these utterly disgusting and perverted ideas, but that may occur soon. Most everyone in Europe is waiting to see how the gay marriage issue pans out in the United States.
The sad thing about this entire mess is that God has already weighed-in regarding His policies, attitudes and punishment for rampant homosexuality. If anyone questions what God thinks about homosexuality, one need only to read up on the urban renewal program that God arranged for, and provided Sodom and Gomorrah. Leviticus 20:13 clearly states, “If a man also lie with mankind as he lies with a woman, both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.” Everyone knows the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. God made it very plain what he thinks about homosexuality. If you doubt what God’s intentions are toward this sick, disgusting and abominable practice, read about the annihilation of Sodom and Gomorrah. That same punishment can be visited upon the United States as well. Need I say more?
Nominal Christians Embrace Homosexual Bishop
The American Episcopal Church has now elected their first “openly gay” Bishop. What do you think of that? I see a big victory for Satan. One more step toward mainstreaming the homosexual crowd. Normalization is near. Now, we have a major denomination, a so-called “Christian” church that is openly embracing queers. Where will it all end?
Other denominations are reviewing their policies toward homosexuals and lesbians serving in their prospective pulpits. The Methodists, Presbyterians, even the Lutherans are taking a hard look at the ramifications they may face, if open homosexuality is fostered, encouraged and openly practiced in their churches. Some Baptists are even considering a modification of their ban on homosexual members and clergy!
If I only know one thing about God’s Church, it’s this: HOMOSEXUALITY IS AN ABOMINATION IN THE EYES OF GOD. The Bible is quite clear on this subject. Therefore, any group of people calling themselves “Christian,” or a “church,” simply cannot embrace the homosexual lifestyle and be a “Christian” organization. Once again, evil and moral confusion is at work. Evil and moral confusion are some of Satan’s best creations.
I’m reminded of something Garner Ted Armstrong recently said during a sermon, “THE WORD OF GOD IS SACRED. IT’S TWISTED AND PERVERTED BY SO MANY MINISTERS.” His statement that ministers pervert the Word of God certainly has come true in the case of the “Gay bishop.” Nominal-Christian ministers and clergy simply don’t read their Bibles, and when they do, they don’t heed what they read!
Expect more nominal-Christians to embrace homosexuals. Expect more streamlining of the “Gay lifestyle.” Now, more than ever is the time to adhere to what God tells us in Ephesians 6:11, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles [fraud & deception] of the devil.”
Ephesians 6:13 says, “Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to STAND.”
It’s not going to be easy. Standing against evil, moral decay and indecency will be one of the toughest chores we face in the coming days prior to God finally having had enough! That the destruction of our nation as we know it is near, unfortunately is without a doubt. Our ability and open freedom to preach the truth of God is going to come to an end very soon. Today, we pose a small threat to the satanic inspired “Gay Rights Movement.” They’re very much aware of us, and keep a jaundiced eye on the Work of God. When the time comes that we pose a serious threat to them, by serving as a witness and a warning, you can count on the government to move vigorously, to shut down and silence any criticism of gays. Any criticism will be labeled as “hate speech.” Preaching of the truth of God, simply will be prohibited, and severely punished.