Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
Prophe-Zine Issue 071
PropheZine #71
Jan. 18, 1998
Bob Lally Publisher
Mimi Nila Senior Editor
Rick Woodcock Asst. Editor
Abraham George Asst. Editor
Lori Eldridge Asst. Editor
Bob Ippolito Asst. Editor
Faye Carrier Asst. Editor
ARTICLES
Shirley Ann Miller..................Anti-Spirits and False Teaching
Berit Kjos........................ Trading U.S. Rights for UN Rules
Bob Ippolito........Y2K The Millenium Bug-Part 1-The Biblical evidence
PROPHEZINE COMMENTARIES
David Morrison........Population Control Efforts: A Gross Abuse Of Human Rights
Christian Broadcasting Network...The Media and Christian Bashing
Lee Underwood ...................F.Y.I. - Israel in the News
Submitted by BonVal@aol.com...........A Different Kind of a Bible
Submitted by Don via John Terry....Does God Still Speak To Us..?
************************************
===========================================
===========================================
Hi Everyone! Well, a new year is upon us. I remember back in June 1973 High School Graduation talking to my friends wondering where we would be in 2000. The Lord's plans were certainly different than mine I can assure you of that!
The Lord tells us of a number of signs to watch for just before His return. All of you will agree with me that we have experienced "false labor pains" a number of times and that the frequency of these pains is increasing. This can mean one thing and one thing only - that our Lord is returning shortly! Be encouraged that the Holy Spirit is with us constantly strengthening us to run the good race to its conclusion.
I recently lectured on Y2K to about 100 people in my church. I have a balanced message that has been prepared by John Terry, Director of PropheZine News Bites. It was well received and I hope to give this message on other occasions throughout the year. In a few weeks I will place the audio portion on the site. I am available to travel to make the presentation. All I ask that my expenses are covered. BTW, we have 3 new video messages on the site from Keziah Productions in Australia. Have a look!
Well, I could write a book on the things going on with PropheZine. Our staff has increased to 40 volunteers. We are working on a SPANISH version of Prophezine so we may be adding about another 10 volunteers to help with translating the Newsletters and News Bites. We need additional advertisers to help cover site expenses. So much to do and so little time...........
In His Name,
Bob
Owner/Publisher
===========================================
===========================================
|==========================================
|
| Anti-Spirits and False Teaching
| By Shirley Ann Miller
|
|
"Did you know that demons do not travel alone, but always in groups? False teaching is not satisfied to deceive the few, but desires to confound the masses." --Shirley Ann Miller
Without a doubt, most Christians today react rather quickly when hearing the alarming words "heretic" or "heresy." Perhaps, because all of us want to fine-tune our discernment, understanding, and follow the will of God, and as a result, we've turned-on and tuned-in our spiritual antenna. No one wants to be deceived! Spiritual counterfeits abound and sometimes even the most astutely enlightened Christians find themselves involved in questionable beliefs. This is not so new--it's been happening for thousands of years. Why? Because usually false teachings have been taught by a prominent, charismatic leader or because the message sounds simply too good not to be true. Afterall, most believers have very open, loving, trusting hearts and want to learn. If you want to draw the bottom line as to why a believer would ultimately discover they have been caught up in a false teaching, it would most likely be because of a lack of discernment on the issue, not "studying" what the Word of God reveals about a subject, and because of the failure to look at the total picture through its historical origins (1 John 4:1).
For example, when we want to know the difference between a true prophet and a false prophet, how many times have you heard other believers refer to the 100% rule? The 100% rule being that a prophecy given by a prophet of God must be 100% correct and 100% true all of the time. Actually, this rule, by far, should be the least in the test of one sent by God.
In Deuteronomy 13:1-3, you'll read, "If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass...." This passage of scripture should give us an immediate indicator that prophecy does come true, even if it isn't of God. I think you will find even among the psychics, astrologers, and spiritual advisers, that many times what they predict actually does come true. The most important prophecy test in Deuteronomy 13:1-3, should really be: (1) Does the prophecy lead one toward a deeper understanding and knowledge of God? --or does the prophecy lead one into other pseudo-spiritual pursuits that ultimately lead away from God? Deuteronomy 13, reveals to us a spiritual test! Did you know God is testing our hearts? He wants to know if we love Him above all things and in the process He is teaching us how to "obey His voice" and His voice only. By listening to other pseudo-spiritual voices a person will not hear the voice of God. Did you know that most false teachings are so spiritually appealing, it sounds just like it came straight out of the Bible?
There are several considerations to be aware of in regard to false teaching, and you will find that one or more of these will apply:
(1) False teaching always comes to us in "sheep's clothing" and appears to be harmless (Matthew 7:15).
(2) A false teaching appears to be harmless, but actually tears away the foundations of Godly spiritual influence as a ravenous wolf tears the sheep away from the flock. The end-result of false teaching will always be the destruction of a spiritual relationship with God, His power in our life, and our commitment to the scriptural foundations of the Word of God.
(3) False teaching has "fruit" just like its opposite "the fruit of the Spirit." It is impossible for good teaching to bear bad fruit, just as it is impossible for bad teaching to bear good fruit. Good fruit will always be reflected in a deeper, growing dependency upon the Power of God and victory over sin; bad fruit will result in a continual struggle over the powers of the flesh and sin, and rather than an increased dependency upon God will cause one to operate independent, without accountability, and function under the influence of hidden, sinful desires (Matthew 7:17-20).
(4) False teaching will always use the names of God or Lord to promote mighty works as if they are performed in His Name. It will always be for other motives, though appearing innocent, to gain acceptance for a hidden agenda.
(5) False teaching will fail to acknowledge the Divinity of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, as God, and salvation through Grace. "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Colossians 2:9; John 10:7-16; II Cor 11:4). It will always counterfeit the work of the Holy Spirit.
What is the ultimate purpose in false teaching? --To render a believer "ineffective." False teaching always makes one dependent upon the false teacher rather than God. Instead of seeking after God as the source, to hear and know the voice of God, false teaching causes one to seek after a "great teacher" who acts as intermediator communicating God's will. Behind every false teaching is an anti-spirit(s) and behind every anti-spirit is witchcraft. According to the Bible, a spirit of witchcraft will always use "fear" and "control" as a means of manipulation. It takes away "freedom of will" and attempts to control the person through power. Control over people through power (sadly, even as a spiritual leader or speaker) is always a spirit of witchcraft because it "uses" others (Acts 20:28-30). The Holy Spirit never "uses" a person, but leads, prompts, and instructs. Another way of looking at it would be: "The Holy Spirit freely works through a person, but the anti-spirit works to gain control through a person." The one you submit yourself to and seek for supernatural guidance becomes your God. We can observe this in the man called Simon Magus.
The sorcerer and magician, Simon Magus lived in Samaria, during the reign of Claudius Caesar. Among his many supernatural talents, Simon Magus also found his interests falling into the realm of astrology, soothsaying, an interpreter of dreams, and last but not least, he professed to be a prophet. He bewitched the people of Samaria into thinking he was "...some great one" (Acts 8:9), the savior, the Son of God. As Irenaeus (Against Heresies) explains, "Simon Magus claimed to be Jesus Christ in the flesh."
Simon Magus performed a variety of magical displays after following and observing the miracles of God through the apostles. He attempted exorcism, healings, and other demonstrations to capture the attention of the Samaritans. He most probably used a potent, magic spell to gain power and acceptability from the people of Samaria. His rhetoric must have been quite convincing because the Bible tells us that everyone intently listened to him submitting their mind and will to his control. For years, he deceived the people of Samaria into believing he possessed great, Godly power through his "signs and wonders." Simon Magus taught that all people, however cruel or evil, could be saved through "his knowledge" alone. Simon Magus claimed to be the "Boundless Power of God," whereby aeons of light "emanated" from his being encompassing all of those who drew near him. He, being the manifestation of the power of God (Epiphanius, Adv. Haer., XXI and XXIV).
It wasn't until Philip preached the "truth" that the Samaritan's eyes were opened. If you recall, Simon Magus confessed to be a believer in the Messiah, and also baptized (Acts 8:13), but never crucified his former life as a sorcerer. He jealously followed the apostles around, "beholding the miracles and signs which were done," (Acts 8:13) and then offered to buy the Holy Spirit's power from the Apostle Peter (Acts 8:9-24). Why did Simon offer to buy the Holy Spirit's power? Because the ancient sorcerer/magicians, more than anything else, coveted "control" and "power." As a sorcerer, Simon manipulated the unseen forces, controlling spirits, and summoning them to do his will. The spirits obeyed him as slaves do their masters. Undoubtedly, Simon knew that if he possessed the Holy Spirit, "...Give me also this power..." then he would attempt to control, not only the Holy Spirit, but people as well, "...that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost" (Acts 8:18-19).
How do we know this? Because it wasn't ultimately money or greed which motivated Simon, but the underlying desire for power and control over the minds and will of the people. Simon knew the powers of magic and wholeheartedly emersed himself into the realm of the supernatural. He wanted Peter to transfer the Holy Spirit's power onto him, not because he wanted to receive the Messiah, but because he wanted the "power" to manipulate, to control, unseen forces. Simon Magus' desires were not to further the Kingdom of God, but strictly for selfish gain. If he received all of this power, then people everywhere would consider him "a god." Peter told Simon to repent and pray to God, asking for forgiveness, "...if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee" (Acts 8:20-22).
History tells us Simon Magus was never completely free, he later founded the Simonians, an early Gnostic sect, and continued in his pursuit of gaining supernatural power by tapping into unseen spiritual forces in attempts to duplicate the powers of the Holy Spirit. (Clement, Hom. II.22; Justin Martyr (114-168 A.D.); Agrippa Castor (135 A.D.); Irenaeus of Lyon (140-200 A.D.); Hippolytus of Portus (170-236 A.D.); Epiphanius of Salamis (315-402 A.D.)
AS A NOTE: Ireaneus wrote in "Against the Heresies," in an attempt to counteract Gnosticism: "...the most perfect among them shamelessly do all the forbidden things," and "...All those who in any way corrupt the truth, and harm the teaching of the church, are the disciples and successors of Simon Magus..." (Ireaneus, "Against the Heresies," I. 15.4-I.11.4, aka the "Refutation and Overthrow of Falsely Called Knowledge" 182-187 A.D.).
THE ANTI-SPIRIT(S)
Some may call the anti-spirit(s), the anti-christ(s) or demon spirits, because they work similar to the Holy Spirit, but one that moves in the opposite direction away from God. They begin their operation outside of the body and if successful, end their operation inside the body. Anti-spirits have a common purpose:
(1) They attempt to "keep" one away from the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
(2) They attempt to "stop" one from being an effective believer in serving and doing the Will of God.
(3) They plot and plan to defeat, entice, deceive, enslave, tempt, compel, defile, frustrate, bring misery, cause sickness, and their goal is to take away peace of mind, innocence, health, prosperity, and success.
(4) They torment with fear, depression, condemnation, doubt, indecision, procrastination, unbelief, compromise, passivity, and are relentless in their driving, nagging, harassing attempts to compel one to do anything that is in opposition to the Will of God.
(5) They prevent inner peace of mind and personal harmony in their attempts to invade the thought life by bombarding the mind with all sorts of suggestions, fears, lies, insinuations, accusations to break down the total mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. They manifest in unnatural, compulsive behavior as a driving force to destruction and continually fight against peace and harmony.
SPIRITUAL REBOUNDING
One of the most important factors in fighting spiritual battles is to admit and realize that it is very possible that any believer can be deceived. The more one knows they could be deceived, the less likely they would be deceived. None of us are immune from the wiles of the spiritual enemies of our soul. Everyone has problems, and we need the Holy Spirit to help us in our times of weakness; but don't you find it strange that whenever we step out and want to serve the Lord - most - that is when the outside pressures become the worst?
We must continually be reminded that our spiritual battles are not fought in the flesh but in the Spirit (2 Cor 10:4), and it's important to know the difference between "spiritual" and "supernatural." Satan attacks by unsettling the emotions and disturbing the environment. His assaults are intended to depress the inner man and afflict the soul. Two ways of discerning the difference between the spiritual and supernatural are:
(1) Spiritual: We hear the voice of God on the inside, the inner man. Believers must oppose anti-spirit(s) with an active "will" of soul and body, as well as with the strength of the spirit. The best spiritual defense is a continual spiritual offense, because resistance forces the
anti-spirits to go on the defense (James 4:7). God wants the believer yielded but not passive. The Holy Spirit always works actively with a person, in cooperation, and never violates our will or personality. The Holy Spirit motivates a person, never setting aside the person's personality (Eph 3:16; 6:10).
(2) Supernatural: Whatever comes from the outside, the soulish man. These are the manifestations coming down through the senses and the physical or emotional realm. The anti-spirit(s) demand one to be inactive (passive) so that it may work through a passive person reducing the person to a mere robot using control, power, fear, and compulsion. God doesn't want us to be void of our thoughts and feelings, but that our thoughts and feelings will be in harmony with His will. I would be very leery of those who empty their mind, making it a void and readying it to receive whatever outside stimuli they happen to receive at the time.
God gave every person on the face of the Earth "a mind." When you suppress or suspend the thought process you essentially disconnect the "whole" person. God made mankind to interact with Him by a renewal of mind (the soul), spirit, and body. When God speaks to us through His Holy Spirit, He speaks through our spirit to the mind, but the mind (upon being renewed in the Spirit) confirms the Holy Spirit promptings and aligns with the Word of God. The supernatural receives "spiritual" messages that manifest themselves from the spiritual realm into the physical through "the senses and the passive mind." If you disconnect your thought process, you open yourself to receive whatever supernatural, spiritual manifestations happen to be manifesting their presence at the time, and by opening yourself up to anything but the Holy Spirit, you WILL find yourself dealing with "other spirits."
Remember: Always investigate the source and test the spirits "...to see whether they are of God...(1 John 4:1). As the anti-spirits plot in the air and work on earth against God, believers must continually fight back with spiritual power through prayer and intercession.
A few areas for further scripture reading:
Matthew 4:24; 8:16-33; 9;32; 11:18; 12:22, 43-45; 15:22
Mark 1:23-32, 5:2-18; 7:25
Mark 5:2; 9:17
Luke 4:33; 8:27-36; 13:11
John 7:20; 8:48; 10:20-21
Ephesians 6:12
James 2:19
Acts 16; 19:13
Romans 8:26-27
From the book, "Anti-Spirits and False Teaching" and Lampholder Ezine series on "Mind Control "Lampholder Publications http://www.hsv.tis.net/~sammie sammie@traveller.com
|==========================================
|
| Trading U.S. Rights for UN Rules
| By Berit Kjos
|
A report on Executive Order 13107 "The Implementation of Human Rights Treaties",
signed by President Clinton, December 10, 1998
While Americans focused on more scintillating news, President Clinton quietly signed a new executive order titled "The Implementation of Human Rights Treaties." The media ignored it and our leaders didn't tell us. Yet we will pay the cost in freedom as well as dollars for the creation of a massive government bureaucracy to promote, monitor, and enforce compliance with human rights regulations mandated by the United Nations. Remember, this governing body shows only contempt for biblical values, American sovereignty, and the U.S. Constitution.
Clinton's timing was perfect. An attack on Iraq had been planned. And after December's impeachment proceedings, Congress would adjourn for the holidays. Without its objection, the executive order would take effect within 30 days (not a hard and fast rule 1), and become a federal law. Once implemented, no one would be free to do or say anything contrary to the new global ideology.
Hard to believe? Before studying the executive order itself, take a look at the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It illustrates the deceptive meanings behind the noble words used to persuade the American people to accept unthinkable regulations. Even so, on December 10, 1998, President Clinton used its 50th anniversary to celebrate its ideals, to honor its late sponsor Eleanor Roosevelt, to announce his Human Rights Initiatives, and to sign this executive order.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
At the first glance, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights sounds good, as do all the intrusive UN human rights treaties. Article 18 upholds "the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion..." Article 19 affirms "the right to freedom of opinion and expression... and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."
But Article 29 states that "these rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations." In other words, these "rights" or "freedoms" don't apply to those who would criticize the UN or its policies. Your rights would be conditioned on your compliance. Only if your message supports official ideology are you free to speak it. As Andrei
Vishinsky wrote in The Law of the Soviet State, "There can be no place for freedom of speech, press, and so on for the foes of socialism. 2"
The Convention on the Rights of the Child has not been ratified by the Senate. Yet, it would be included among "other relevant treaties" in this executive order, which begins with these words:
"By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and bearing in mind the obligations of the United States pursuant to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other relevant treaties concerned with the protection and promotion of human rights to which the United States is now or may become a party in the future, it is hereby ordered."
Like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child uses manipulative and misleading language. According to Article 13, "The child shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers..." In other words, parents have no authority to keep a child from reading a sexually explicit magazine or visiting pagan chat rooms on Internet.
While parents lose their right to set safe boundaries for their children, the State assumes full power to "protect" the child and define the rules. Thus Article 13 concludes with: "This right may be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary for respect of the rights or reputations of others; or for protection of national security or public order."
Likewise, if parents restrict their child's "right to freedom of association" or their child's ambiguous rights to "privacy" or "conscience and religion" (Articles 14 -16), they would break this law and face the potential loss of their child to the state's "protection" services.
In the context of UN ideology, "national security or public order" refers to the concept of solidarity, a utopian community oneness based on shared values defined by globalist leaders. In their minds, anything less than social solidarity in every community could stir conflict or incite violence. In this context, dissenters become foes; facts or beliefs that clash with its vision of unity become threats; and the uncompromising truths of biblical Christianity become intolerable, even dangerous to public safety.
These "human rights" restrictions are already filtering into American culture. For example, any Christian website that promotes biblical standards for right and wrong could be targeted for censorship by Cyber Patrol, the world's most powerful Internet thought police. Owned by The Learning Company, America's "premier developer of educational software," it has formed some powerful "partners" around the world. These include AOL, AT&T, Bell Atlantic, CompuServe, IBM, Microsoft, Netscape, Scholastic Network, and others. Its website3 shows the categories in its CyberNOT Block List, a list of offenses that determines which websites should be screened to protect schools and families that buy their service. These dangers include Violence/Profanity, Nudity, Sexual Acts, Intolerance, Satanic/Cult, Drugs, and Militant/Extremist.
Notice "Intolerance" amidst the more obvious threats. CyberPatrol warns us that "any picture or text that elevates one group over another" would be considered intolerant. Their filters now "protect" children and schools across the country from visiting American Family Association and other Christian websites simply because they present God-given warnings and view Christian truth and lifestyles as superior to pagan alternatives.
An international "Declaration on Tolerance," prepared by UNESCO and signed by its member nations, defines the new global standard for right and wrong. All nations would be responsible for fulfilling this international contract by teaching the "right" kind of tolerance and training their people to "respect" every kind of ritual and lifestyle no matter how contrary to God's Word. Though the U.S. didn't sign this anti-Christian Declaration 4, our leaders are fueling the transformation. Consider how its decrees would undermine our Bill of Rights:
"Tolerance is respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world's cultures It is not only a moral duty, it is also a political and legal requirement." "Tolerance involves the rejection of dogmatism and absolutism." [Biblical truth?] "Tolerance... means that one's views are not to be imposed on others." [Would this end freedom to share the gospel with others? Could the UN still share its views?]
"Intolerance... is a global threat."
"Scientific studies and networking should be undertaken to coordinate the international community's response to this global challenge, including analysis of root causes and effective countermeasures, as well as research and monitoring... "
"Tolerance promotion and the shaping of attitudes of openness, mutual listening and solidarity should take place in schools and universities, and through non-formal education... at home and in the workplace."
"Promote rational tolerance teaching methods that will address the cultural, social, economic, political and religious sources of intolerance-- major roots of violence and exclusion. 5"
As you read on, you will see how the suggestions in the last three points are worked into President Clinton's Initiatives and Executive Order. But don't forget, the first four points provide the rationale for the last three points.
Clinton's Human Rights Initiatives
A White House Press Release, posted with the executive order at the White House website, explained that "on the historic anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, President Clinton announced several policy initiatives to advance human rights at home and abroad." These initiatives include the following:
1. "Signing of a Human Rights Executive Order, that strengthens our efforts to implement human rights treaties, and creates an Administration working group to coordinate these efforts." Its main points are listed below.
2. "Establishment of a Genocide Early Warning Center, jointly run by the State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency, to train intelligence resources on situations that could potentially lead to genocide."
The response of the liberal media and politicians to the bombing of the Oklahoma Federal Building gives us a clue to the rising hostility toward those who refuse to embrace the new global visions.
Remember how Christian and conservative radio hosts were accused of "creating a climate of hate" that could incite violence. In this cultural atmosphere, such an Early Warning Center, using intrusive CIA surveillance technology to monitor those who dissent, could well lead to repression of contrary opinions.
In fact, that might be its main purpose. Remember UNESCO's Declaration on Tolerance which equates intolerance with biblical absolutes. Since "intolerance is a global threat," today's crisis calls for analysis "of root causes effective countermeasures" and "monitoring..."
When the US delegation signed the Action Plan prepared at the 1995 UN Conference for Women in Beijing, we agreed to "develop gender-sensitive databases, information and monitoring systems." These information systems would monitor every school, workplace, and home for compliance with "women's rights" to cast aside traditional gender roles in the home and assume 50-50 representation in business, entertainment, and political leadership. This massive global information management system would be controlled by the UN Social and Economic Council 6.
The technology needed for worldwide surveillance has been created. Existing databases are being linked and the information management systems completed 7. The planned "unique personal identifier" is becoming reality, and the process of intrusive surveillance is under way. We are ready for the next step:
3. "Enhancing our response to human rights emergencies. The U.S. Agency for International Development will provide up to $8 million over the next five years to non-governmental organizations to enhance their rapid response capacities. Organizations can use these funds for a variety of purposes, including the creation of assessment teams, monitoring units or other means of addressing situations where human rights may be imminently threatened."
Whenever you see the open-ended word "other", beware. It could be interpreted to mean anything the authors might later include 8.
4. "Preventing youth hate crime through publication in January of a guide for schools entitled 'Protecting Students from Harassment and Hate Crimes,' developed jointly by the Department of Education and the National Association of Attorneys General. The guide provides suggestions to school systems for addressing the issue of school violence."
Remember, words such as violence and hate have been redefined to reflect a global perspective.
They now include various forms of conflict, biblical "intolerance", and failure to comply with the new global standards for mental health, i.e. the attitudes, values, beliefs, behavior, and collective mindset required for community solidarity. (See "Zero Tolerance for Non-Compliance" and "Clinton's War on Hate Bans Christian values" at our website <http://www.crossroad.to>)
6. "encourage greater reporting to and cooperation with U.S. authorities in targeting abusers of human rights."
Assessing, monitoring, re-educating, and tracking every person around the world is key to the UN vision of global governance 9. And, as President Clinton stressed at his 1997 White House Conference on Hate Crimes, "reporting" intolerant words and attitudes is the duty of every person in the community. The following executive order adds legal authority to this unconstitutional plan.
The Executive Order
The President summarized the scope of the executive order in its opening paragraph:
"By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and bearing in mind the obligations of the United States pursuant to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), and other relevant treaties concerned with the protection and promotion of human rights to which the United States is now or may become a party in the future, it is hereby ordered."
Notice that it includes "other relevant treaties concerned with the protection and promotion of human rights..." In other words, it would apparently include such unratified treaties as The Convention on the Rights of the Child and other treaties "to which" we may "become party in the future." As you read its precepts below, consider whether this executive order protects human "rights" or oppressive "responsibilities."
Section 1(a) commits the U.S. "fully to respect and implement its obligations under the international human rights treaties to which it is a party, including the ICCPR, the CAT, and the CERD."
Don't assume that this EO only applies to ratified treaties. This section doesn't rule out all the other present and future unratified treaties included in the opening paragraph and in Sec. 4(vi).
While the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women has not been ratified, its values has been established as a cultural norm through the liberal media, education, and a variety of laws, rules and regulations. To speed the process, President Clinton established an agency to manage and oversee the implementation of the Beijing Plan for Action signed after the 1995 UN Conference for Women. It includes all the key provisions of the above Convention, such as 50-50 representation in influential positions.
"(b) It shall also be the policy and practice of the Government of the United States to promote respect for international human rights, both in our relationships with all other countries and by working with and strengthening the various international mechanisms for the promotion of human rights, including, inter alia, those of the United Nations, the International Labor Organization, and the Organization of American States."
Don't forget that ILO, the International Labor Organization, shows little concern for the rights of those who oppose its liberal, political, and global agenda.
Sec. 2 titled, "Responsibility of Executive Departments and Agencies" brings all these agencies together in a coordinated effort to follow UN guidelines for human rights and global solidarity.
Sec. 4 establishes "an Interagency Working Group on Human Rights Treaties for the purpose of providing guidance, oversight, and coordination with respect to questions concerning the adherence to and implementation of human rights obligations and related matters." It would be chaired by the "designee of the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs."
The functions of this Interagency Working Group would include:
"(i) coordinating the interagency review of any significant issues concerning the implementation of this order..."
"(iii) coordinating the responses of the United States Government to complaints against it concerning alleged human rights violations submitted to the United Nations, the Organization of American States, and other international organizations;"
"(iv) developing effective mechanisms to ensure that legislation proposed by the Administration is reviewed for conformity with international human rights obligations and that these obligations are taken into account in reviewing legislation under consideration by the Congress as well;"
Apparently, the United Nations and its Human Rights treaties would replace the U.S. Constitution as our main standard and filter for legal action.
"(v) developing recommended proposals and mechanisms for improving the monitoring of the actions by the various States, Commonwealths, and territories of the United States... for their conformity with relevant treaties, the provision of relevant information for reports and other monitoring purposes, and the promotion of effective remedial mechanisms;"
Remember UNESCO's Declaration on Tolerance. It, too, called for "analysis of root causes [of intolerance] and effective countermeasures, as well as research and monitoring...."
Just as the provisions of the unratified Biodiversity treaty are being implemented through the EPA regulations, executive orders, and environmental guidelines so unratified human rights agreements are being implemented through executive orders, reinterpretation of old laws, and a variety of local, state and national regulations that bypass Congress. However, the heart of the transformation is UNESCO's plan for Lifelong Learning, a psycho-social process of re-learning: replacing traditional beliefs, values, attitudes, and individual thinking with the new global ideology and collective thinking.
This program demands everyone's participation in the Hegelian dialectic (or consensus) process. Everyone must be willing to compromise in order to find "common ground". People from every cultural background must agree to dialogue to consensus over divisive social issues under the leadership of a facilitator trained in psycho-social manipulation.
"(vi) developing plans for public outreach and education concerning the provisions of the ICCPR, CAT, CERD, and other relevant treaties and human rights-related provisions of domestic law;"
The last sentence would include Clinton's hate-crimes initiatives and legislation as well as other prohibitions against any information that would be offensive to our politically correct thought police.
That Christian websites are being tagged by the Cyber Patrol because they violate its guidelines on "tolerance" shows how "private" organizations, in partnership with our government, are implementing the international political agenda.
Remember the last two points in UNESCO's Declaration on Tolerance. They call for "rational tolerance teaching methods that will address the cultural, social, economic, political and religious sources of intolerance-major roots of violence and exclusion." No person would be free from the duty to conform to UN standards through its manipulative program for "shaping... attitudes of openness, mutual listening and solidarity in schools and universities, and through non-formal education... at home and in the workplace."
These two points summarize the UNESCO plan for re-learning" or "remediation" for adults as well as children. Tied to the national-international plan for School-to-Work signed into law by Clinton in 1998, this section probably means that no one would receive a work certificate without conforming to the new ideology and group thinking 10.
"(vii) coordinating and directing an annual review of United States reservations, declarations, and understandings to human rights treaties, and matters as to which there have been non-trivial complaints or allegations of inconsistency with or breach of international human rights obligations..."
A typical inconsistency would be churches that refuse to hire pagans or homosexuals. Such "separatism" could be challenged both on the bases of discrimination and refusal to enter into dialogue and seek "common ground." The UN vision of solidarity rules out such "separatism." Al Gore summarized this sentiment well at a 1991 Communitarian conference in Washington: "Seeing ourselves as separate is the central problem in our political thinking."
Clinton's Hate-Crimes Conference called for "some sort of club or organization at the school -- because if you think about it, your parents are still pretty well separated.... Most houses of worship are still fairly segregated. We have to find a disciplined, organized way out of this so that we reach every child in an affirmative way before something bad happens..."
But that isn't enough. Every person-young and old must be held responsible for reporting violations.
As in Nazi Germany, children would have to report on parents, neighbors on neighbors, etc. Our president outlined the plan at his 1997 Hate-Crimes Conference,
"The Justice Department will make its own hate crimes training curriculum available. A lot of hate crimes still go unreportedº. If a crime is unreported, that gives people an excuse to ignore it."
"the real answer to our success in this endeavor is obviously that we all have to work together. And all of you can strike new energy into this entire endeavor around the country."
At the same conference, Attorney General Janet Reno added:
" ...the first line of defense is to prevent it. But then it is very important when you see hate to speak out against it immediately and strike it down. How can we in the federal government improve our coordination with local law enforcement, with the state authorities, and with groups such as the churches or other advocacy groups in the community, one, to get it reported, and two, to work with you so that the investigations and the prosecutions aredesigned with one objective in mind to eliminate hate..."
This executive order links Clinton's goals to the UN vision of controlled solidarity. For the Interagency Working Group would coordinate its efforts with "international human rights institutions, including the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Special Rapporteurs and complaints procedures established by the United Nations Human Rights Commission."
Sec. 6, "Judicial Review, Scope, and Administration" gives an example of Clinton's ambiguous and misleading legal language: "(c) The term 'treaty obligations' shall mean treaty obligations as approved by the Senate pursuant to Article II, section 2, clause 2 of the United States Constitution."
This statement appears to be little more than a smoke screen, for the actual executive order extends far beyond ratified treaties or, rather, "our treaty obligations" (remember the first paragraph and Sec.4 vi). Our president intends to create the American part of the United Nations' massive management system and monitoring process. He is betraying our nation into the hands of a global government with a newly established International Criminal Court with authority to prosecute its opposition. And he is ready to provide the technology the UN needs in order to track every person and community in the world. Once this monstrous system is in place, it may not matter whether human rights treaties are ratified or not. We will have yielded control of our lives and thoughts to an anti-Christian world government. Let's hope Congress will awaken to this threat, blocks this executive order, and refuse to fund any of its seditious programs.
Meanwhile, the deception grows. In his speech commemorating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, our president gave a glimpse of the changing meaning of "rights" and "freedom":
"In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded four essential human freedoms.
1. "The first is freedom of speech and expression -- everywhere in the world.
2. "The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way -- everywhere in the world.
3. "The third is freedom from want . . . .
4. "The fourth is freedom from fear . . . anywhere in the world . . . . The world order which we seek is the cooperation of free countries, working together in a friendly, civilized society."
The last two "freedoms", which apparently are now considered human rights, would require a totalitarian world government. The third "freedom" would require a global welfare system, and the fourth would require absolute control of human behavior no guns, no free speech, etc., except in the hands of elitist rulers.
Our Response
We shouldn't be surprised. The Bible tells us to prepare for a world government that would persecute all who refuse to conform to its ideology and group thinking 11. Since Biblical Christianity is incompatible with the UN's global spirituality, Christians had better prepare to face persecution even in America.
Long ago, God showed us what to expect in this post-Christian era: "But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. From such people turn away!"
Remember, separatism is intolerable to the UN. To "turn away" would violate its vision of social solidarity. So it's not surprising that the passage continues with this warning:
"...all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned..." (2 Timothy 3:1-5,12-14)
It won't be easy to continue to stand firm in God's uncompromising Word when the world demands consensus. But there is no other safe position in this fast-changing world. Only our King can provide all the strength, wisdom, peace, and love we need for the battle 12. When we choose to follow Him, He strength becomes ours! His life in us will bring encouragement and hope to all around us.
Remember, we are on the winning side. "Blessed is the people whose God is the Lord!"
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?"
Psalm 27:1
To understand the nature of the global education system, read Brave New Schools (Harvest House Publishers). For practical information about feminist spirituality and the power of the global "sisterhood" of feminist leaders, read A Twist of Faith. Available through Christian bookstores, our website <http://www.crossroad.to>, or by calling 800-829-5646.
ENDNOTES
1. Apparently, some executive orders take effect immediately. Others provide more time for Congressional action. There seems to be a lack of agreement among Congressional aides on a clear standard or procedure.
2. Encyclopaedia Britannica (1968), Volume V, page 164.
3. http://www.cyberpatrol.com/at_cp.htm
4. Deuteronomy 18:9-13, Romans 1:18-32 and I Corinthians 10:11
5. The Declaration of Principles on Tolerance, adopted and signed by the Member States of the UNESCO on 16 November, 1995.
6. The Beijing Platform for Action, #258, #314. See also "A National Information System: Executive Order #13011, at our website: http://www.crossroad.to
7. See "No Place to Hide" at our website.
8. In this case, "or other means of addressing." may refer to the UN plan outlined in a 1995 report titled Towards a Rapid Reaction Capability for the United Nations. Published by the Canadian government and written with the aid of an International Consultative Group, it calls for a "highly trained" UN Volunteer Force armed with America's latest surveillance and reconnaissance technology ready to carry out the "riskier operations" which national governments might forbid. Ponder some of its suggestions:
"This study's central objective is to recommend changes at all levels of the UN system which would give the UN an enhanced capability to respond rapidly to crisis situations...(p.
iv)
"...the UN would need to create a database which could capture information provided by national authorities." (page 53)
"To enhance rapid reaction, the UN and Member States need to address... the management systems which should be put into place to ensure that national training programs are responsive to the UN's requirements." (page 54)
"The fact that the theoretically best solution is not at present politically feasible does not mean that the system must simply muddle on indefinitely in its present condition. A great deal can be achieved without constitutional change, by changes in such salient features as geography, legal mandates and behavior." Sir Brian Urquhart and Esrskine Childers (page 55)
"...surveillance technologies and information management systems could be integrated into an organization-wide system to enhance contingency planning." (57)
"Governments are sometimes reluctant to release their forces for duty... Even when Governments are disposed to concur the process of seeking authorization is often slow."(600
"As professional volunteers develop into a cohesive UN force, they can assume responsibility for some of the riskier operations mandated by the Council but for which troop contributors have been hesitant to contribute... Without the need to consult national authorities, the UN could cut response time significantly... As the 1995 Commission on Global Governance noted, "The very existence of an immediately available and effective UN Volunteer Force could be a deterrent."(62)
9. See "No Place to Hide" at our website: http://www.crossroad.to
10. See "Worforce Development Means life-long Indoctrination."
11. Revelation 13
12. Philippians 4:19
|================================================
|
| Y2K The Millenium Bug - Part 1 -
| The Biblical evidence
| by Bob Ippolito
|
(Caps used in the Scriptures below are for emphasis, except Rev 17:5) As the world has now officially entered its last year before the new millennium, many are wondering about Y2K*(see below). Is it simply foolish millennial madness, or TEOTWAWKI (The End Of The World As We Know It), or something in between?
It appears that expressed opinions range from complete optimism to total pessimism and desperation, as well as everything in between. Careful examination of these opinions and the reasons behind them will reveal the following trends: (For 18 months this author has daily monitored the reports, mounting into the hundreds) complete optimism - ignorance and/or complete denial of the facts reserved optimism - understanding of the technology OR the issues limited pessimism - understanding of the technology AND the issues total pessimism - a "flee to the hills strategy"
One of the most frustrating positions expressed is that of Christians who are in either of the two extremes.
Total pessimism - 'Fleeing to the hills' betrays an attitude of fear and abandonment. Neither is of the Lord. Fear and abandonment do not reach out to others; if Y2K is going to be that bad, then it becomes all the more a golden opportunity for outreach in the love and name of Christ.
Complete optimism - is usually defended (even from famous authors on prophecy) with statements like, "well the Bible doesn't mention Y2K" or "my banker says we have it all under control, therefore I'm not concerned about it at all". To someone with such a position, we again see ignorance of the technology and/or denial of the facts, whether Christian or non-Christian. Do you think that maybe the banker has his own agenda of maintaining depositor confidence to prevent a run on his bank?
It will be shown here that the more we know about the Bible, the more we will see that there is strong reason for some Biblically legitimate concern and the need for some level of personal preparation. We will focus here on the Biblical legitimacy.
"BUT THE BIBLE DOESN'T MENTION Y2K", (or so goes the defense).
In response I say, but the Bible doesn't mention NEW WORLD ORDER or NUCLEAR CAPABILITIES, or COMPUTERS but it does suggest them before they were ever imagined or existed or had a name, and now we DO have them!
THE NEW WORLD ORDER - The last Gentile empire, prophesied in Scripture.
(A 10-leader global government with one ruler)
Examples:
Dan 7: 7 "After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had TEN HORNS.
8 "While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth uttering great boasts.
Dan 8: 23 "And in the latter period of their rule, When the transgressors have run their course, A king will arise Insolent and skilled in intrigue.
24 "And his power will be mighty, but not by his own power, And he will destroy to an extraordinary degree And prosper and perform his will; He will destroy mighty men and the holy people.
Dan 11: 36 "Then the king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and will speak monstrous things against the God of gods; and he will prosper until the indignation is finished, for that which is decreed will be done.
Rev 12:12 "And the TEN HORNS which you saw are ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour.
13 "These have one purpose and they give their power and authority to the beast.
14 "These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful."
Rev 13:1 And he stood on the sand of the seashore. And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having TEN HORNS and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names.
2 And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority.
3 And I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And THE WHOLE EARTH WAS AMAZED AND FOLLOWED AFTER THE BEAST;
4 and they worshiped the dragon, because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?"
In the above passages we see the well-known blueprint for the one ruler global government, now identifiable as the NEW WORLD ORDER, foretold by the prophets, and now increasingly mentioned by name by personages such as Michail Gorbachev, George Bush, Henry Kissinger, Alan Greenspan (12/31/98 USA Today, pg 1B), and many others.
NUCLEAR CAPABILITY examples:
Although the terms 'NUCLEAR' or 'ATOMIC' are not mentioned in the Bible, consider the following:
Rev 8: 10 And the third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of waters;
11 and the name of the star is called WORMWOOD; and a third of the waters became WORMWOOD; and MANY MEN DIED FROM THE WATERS, BECAUSE THEY WERE MADE BITTER.
It has been mentioned by many, that the word translated Wormwood is, in Ukrainian, CHERNOBLE! As we all know, the water became contaminated (bitter) by radioactivity, and many people died from it. This seems to be an ominous warning to our day about the release of radioactive material, possibly caused by a missile attack upon a nuclear reactor.
Rev 11: 18 "And the nations were enraged, and Thy wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to give their reward to Thy bond-servants the prophets and to the saints and to those who fear Thy name, the small and the great, and to DESTROY THOSE WHO DESTROY THE EARTH."
Never, before nuclear capability, has it been conceivable that men would have the power to "DESTROY THE EARTH".
Rev 6: 12 And I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the SUN BECAME BLACK AS SACKCLOTH made of hair, and THE WHOLE MOON BECAME LIKE BLOOD;
13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind.
14 And the SKY WAS SPLIT APART LIKE A SCROLL when it is rolled up; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Above we have a perfect description of the detonation of a nuclear explosion. Upon detonation, the sky is split apart, the air is ionized creating a vacuum, and the surrounding air rushes back into the center to fill the vacuum, like the two halves of a scroll snapping back towards the middle. In the aftermath, as a result of the debris thrown into the air, the sun becomes dark and the moon glows blood red; this atmospheric effect is similar to the aftermath of volcanic eruptions.
Zech 5: 5:1 Then I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, there was a FLYING SCROLL.
2 And he said to me, "What do you see?" And I answered, "I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits." (about 30 feet by 15 feet) 3 Then he said to me, "This is THE CURSE THAT IS GOING FORTH OVER THE FACE OF THE WHOLE LAND; surely everyone who steals will be purged away according to the writing on one side, and everyone who swears will be purged away according to the writing on the other side.
The above account may be the description of the airborne bomb (FLYING SCROLL) that causes the scroll-like explosion in Rev 6:14.
Zech 12: 12:1 The burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel. Thus declares the LORD who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him, 2 "Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah.
3 "And it will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it.
4 "In that day," declares the LORD, "I will strike every horse with bewilderment, and his rider with madness. But I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with BLINDNESS.
14: 12 Now this will be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem; their FLESH WILL ROT WHILE THEY STAND ON THEIR FEET, AND THEIR EYES WILL ROT IN THEIR SOCKETS, AND THEIR TONGUE WILL ROT IN THEIR MOUTH.
These descriptions sound like the effects of nuclear and/or chemical warfare.
Having now established that concepts like 'NEW WORLD ORDER' and 'NUCLEAR CAPABILITY' do not have to be mentioned by 'name' in order to be biblical, let us now move on to:
**********THE Y2K COMPUTER ISSUE**************
COMPUTER examples:
Although 'computers' are not mentioned in the Bible as such:
Rev. 13:16 And he causes ALL, THE SMALL AND THE GREAT, AND THE RICH AND THE POOR, AND THE FREE MEN AND THE SLAVES, TO BE GIVEN A MARK on their right hand, or on their forehead, 17 and he provides that NO ONE SHOULD BE ABLE TO BUY OR TO SELL, EXCEPT THE ONE WHO HAS THE MARK, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.
Above we have the foretelling of an end times technology which, under the authority of just one person, has the ability to catalogue every person and every financial transaction in the world.
Looking also at the preceeding verse:
Rev. 13: 15 And there was given to him to give breath to the IMAGE of the beast, that the image of the beast might even SPEAK and cause as many as do not WORSHIP THE IMAGE of the beast to be killed.
Here we see what is very likely a computer monitor with an interactive graphics screen that appears to give 'life' to the 'image' of the beast. COMPUTER DISPLAY MONITORS WITH INTERACTIVE GRAPHICS images are common today and we do have computers capable of databasing the existence, whereabouts (Global Positioning Systems) and actions of every person on earth.
With respect to the MARK on the forehead or the hand, we now have zero-energy-required radio frequency transponders smaller than a grain of rice, able to be implanted just beneath the skin, which interact with external computer sensors. They are currently being used for data logging and position tracking of wildlife, pets, babies and children. (Soon maybe everyone)
Voluntary interaction by MARKED persons with computer display monitors may constitute the act of WORSHIP of the IMAGE (having previously required a renouncing of any allegiance to Jesus Christ (Rev 20:4) in order to obtain the MARK to buy or sell).
The technology described here could not be imagined even 70 years ago, yet the apostle John not only described this vision in 90 A.D., but told us how the technology will ultimately be used.
God HATES this marking of the people; that is why he reprimanded David for 'numbering the people' 2 Sam 24:1,10,15; 1 Chr 21:1,14; 27:23,24. This is why King Herod did a census at the birth of Christ, later followed by genocide against all males under two years of age. This is also what Hitler did to the Jews during WWII. These are all foreshadowings of the antichrist's end times strategy for selective genocide against Christians and Jews (Rev 12:17; Dan 7:21; 11:31; Matt 24:15-22).
THE Y2K MILLENIUM BUG examples:
In the Book of Genesis we have an example of the first foreshadowing of the antichrist in the person of Nimrod, the first and last one-world ruler in human form (until the end times antichrist, who is the embodiment of Satan Rev 12:10-12;13:2-4).
Gen 10:8 Now Cush became the father of Nimrod; he became a mighty one on the earth.
9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, "Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD."
And the beginning of his kingdom was BABEL and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
Gen 11: 6 And the LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and THEY ALL HAVE THE SAME LANGUAGE. And THIS IS WHAT THEY BEGAN TO DO, AND NOW NOTHING WHICH THEY PURPOSE TO DO WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR THEM.
7 "COME, LET US GO DOWN AND THERE CONFUSE THEIR LANGUAGE, THAT THEY MAY NOT UNDERSTAND ONE ANOTHER'S SPEECH."
8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city.
9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there THE LORD CONFUSED THE LANGUAGE OF THE WHOLE EARTH; AND FROM THERE THE LORD SCATTERED THEM ABROAD OVER THE FACE OF THE WHOLE EARTH.
Here we have the principle that a common language causes men to accumulate knowledge to the extent that men have great synergism in their collective efforts, and it causes them to turn their backs upon God and to ignore Him as the giver of life and the Governor of our affairs. Surely through the development of the computer, the efforts of the U.N., the IMF, etc. men have been diligently at work to counteract the curse at Babylon and to reestablish a common language for mankind for the purpose of uniting in a global system of commerce, finance, and politics. This New World Order Babylonian System of the end times was not only foretold (above), but has been named for what it is:
Rev 17:4 And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality, 5 and upon her forehead a name was written, "***MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT***, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."
6 And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. And when I saw her, I wondered greatly.
7 And the angel said to me, "Why do you wonder? I shall tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the TEN HORNS.
A less well known insight obtained from a highly respected extrabiblical ancient source (Josephus-Antiquities of the Jews - Book 1, Chapter 4) is that Nimrod, in direct opposition to God's decree (Gen 9:1,7) to men to multiply and to SPREAD OUT UPON THE FACE OF THE EARTH, herded men into walled cities that he built (Gen 10:10-12), so that he could maintain control over them (Gen 11:4).
The city and tower of Babel was an act of deliberate defiance on his part against God's judgement of the Noahic Flood. Nimrod convinced the people that he would build a tower so tall (into "heaven" meaning the 'first heaven' in Hebrew, which is the sky), that they would find safety above any repeat flood judgements from God (he already knew that there would be none-Gen 9:11), and therefore promoted (false) safety in his (Nimrod's) Babylonian system. The message: Nimrod - 'good guy'; God - 'bad guy'.
God, being God, halted and destroyed Nimrod's One World System and confused their language and thereby scattered men over the earth the way He originally commanded them. But their common language had to first be destroyed!
Dan 12:4 "But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase."
In the end times (as the Babylonian System is rebuilt) through advances in travel and communications technology, the world would seems to get smaller and smaller, and knowledge has greatly increased. Enter the astou
nding progress of the Internet:
Mat. 24: 14 "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached (published)in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come.
Many scholars have pointed out that the verb in the above verse should be translated "PUBLISHED". Interestingly, the development of the printing press enabled the "publishing", but "all nations" has had a long way to go. The development of shortwave radio has given us "all nations" but that not "published" but is HEARD. The Internet has finally enabled anyone with access to a computer anywhere in the world to READ the "PUBLISHED" text of the Bible in almost any language (for an example, log onto http://www.iclnet.org). Is it merely a coincidence that the Internet has developed over the last decade of the millenium?
AN INTERESTING DIRECT(?) HINT AT Y2K IN THE SCRIPTURES:
Regarding the antichrist:
Dan 7:24 'As for the TEN HORNS, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and ANOTHER WILL ARISE AFTER THEM, and he will be different from the previous ones and will subdue three kings.
25 'And he will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, AND HE WILL INTEND TO MAKE ALTERATIONS IN TIMES AND IN LAW; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.
Dan 8: 12 And on account of transgression the host will be given over to THE HORN along with the regular sacrifice; and it will fling truth to the ground and perform its will and prosper.
23 '... A king will arise Insolent and skilled in INTRIGUE.
25 "And through his shrewdness He will cause DECEIT to succeed by his influence;...
This above passage (here capitalized) has mystified scholars for centuries, but in looking for a possible computer solution to a potential DATE-BASED Y2K breakdown of our computerized society as we know it, it could find its fulfillment and have significant meaning. Especially if the Calendar is changed to remove references to A.D. (Annuum Domini-Year of our Lord; and B.C.-Before Christ)! It could represent an attempt to write the name of Christ out of human history!
AND WHAT WILL BE THE ATTITUDE OF MOST PEOPLE CONCERNING THE THINGS THAT ARE TO TAKE PLACE?
37 "For the coming of the Son of Man will be JUST LIKE THE DAYS OF NOAH.
38 "For as in those days which were BEFORE the flood they were eating and drinking, they were marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND UNTIL THE FLOOD CAME and took them all away; so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.
(AND FROM THE REFERRED-TO EVENT in GENESIS:)
Gen 6: 3 Then the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY YEARS."
13 Then God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am ABOUT TO DESTROY them with the earth.
As the above passage shows, Jesus said that people simply did not understand in the time of Noah. Although Noah preached for 120 years about the judgement to come as a Flood, they simply went on with life as usual and only Noah prepared as the Lord had warned him to.
Why?
1) They didn't care about God.
2) They did not believe the warnings (they had never experienced rain before - Gen 2:5,6) 3) They refused to change their lifestyle of focus upon living for the moment.
Jesus says it will be the same just before His return. Even though there are plenty of warnings that a sudden judgement is about to come, and that it is designed against a Babylonian System type of Godless society, they will not hear the warnings.
Like in the time of Noah,
1) Most people don't care about God.
2) We've NEVER EXPERIENCED A GLOBAL COMPUTER CRISIS BEFORE therefore we don't believe the warning.
3) We've procrastinated by refusing to change our lifestyle of focus upon living for the moment.
Even though we've known well in advance:
Exactly when the crisis would hit (1/1/2000)
And in what form the judgement would be unleashed (systems failures and breakdowns caused by computer software and hardware date errors).
The masses have chosen to ignore it and have failed to allocate enough time and resources to avoid a potential crisis.
In like manner, the expert warnings about Y2K complications are well documented. But people choose to believe the uninformed optimists and the private agenda spokespersons than the informed expert realists and the hints that are contained in the Bible.
Will Y2K be a minor speedbump or TEOTWAWKI? I don't know.
But I do know this much as accurate fact:
1 The New World Order is arriving daily.
2 Computer technology controls our lives.
3 There is a universal 'glitch' that can confuse and cripple this technology both in a Tower-of-Babel type Genesis judgement (cause) and in a Tribulation Mystery Babylon type Revelation judgement (effect).
4 Failures of the current systems will create the need for some relacements and a possible opportunity for a technological NWO coup using the latest technology. (Many plans are already in place) 5 We have known about this well in advance with a Noah's-flood type judgement warning.
6 We are doing too little, too late.
Jesus says:
Luke 21: 34 "Be on guard, that your hearts may not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and THAT DAY come on you suddenly LIKE A TRAP;
35 for it will come upon ALL those who dwell on the face of ALL THE EARTH.
36 "But keep on the alert at all times, praying in order that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."
The solution in Jesus' own words concerning the approaching of difficult times:
1) Be eternally safe IN CHRIST. (John 3:16) 2) Pray.
3) Don't worry; get prepared instead.**
I, for one, intend to do what I can reasonably do to respect the warnings from Scripture and from the computer experts.
Part 2 - the Current Status of Y2K Repairs (to be continued)
* ('Y2K' is shorthand for 'The Year 2000' Bug, which refers to a problem which will occur in the processing of data in computers and embedded computer chips throughout society when dates after Jan 1, 2000 are used in date sensitive calculations like banking, billing, travel reservations, expiration dating, etc. The problems will be caused by the inability of software to interpret dates that suddenly drop from '99 to '00', instead of increasing, the way they always have. It is a simple problem, but there is neither enough time nor resources to assess, fix, and test most computers.
** As a wise and profound graduate professor of mine used to say:
"Don't worry about the exam, - STUDY for it." (2 Tim. 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.)
( (Part 3 - Personal Preparation)
Bob Ippolito
Prophezine - Assistant editor - http://www.prophezine.com The Watchman's Trumpet - Founder & Editor - WatchmanT@aol.com
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
PROPHEZINE NEWSLETTER - Commentaries
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
POPULATION CONTROL EFFORTS: A GROSS ABUSE OF HUMAN RIGHTS by David Morrison
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind ...
Thus begins the second paragraph of the Preamble to the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a document whose 50th Anniversary the United Nations celebrates this year. It feels odd, in the waning days of humanity's bloodiest century, to read the document's list of high ideals and proposed freedoms. The intervening years, even within United Nations itself, have been filled with so many wrongs.
A person in the wake of a binge often turns strongly, for a while, away from drinking. So too did an idealistic international coalition turn away from the blood-soaked years that immediately preceded 1948. Less than three years earlier, American cameras recorded for eternity the hollow eyes of Buchenwald's incredulous survivors, and in the blink of an eye, whole Japanese cities had been wiped from the face of the earth. The authors of the Universal Declaration hoped they had seen the last of such carnage.
IDEOLOGY VS. HUMAN RIGHTS
The passing years revealed that the United Nations' comprehension of the Universal Declaration lagged behind its authors'
idealism. The spirit of the 1948 signatories was willing enough, but U.N. moral and intellectual commitment to the ideal in time grew weak. Post-Declaration U.N. activities reveal that the organization lacks the crucial understanding to become a voice for individual rights in what remains a savage world.
The recognition of the inherent dignity of human rights, the Declaration proclaims, serves as "the foundation of freedom." Thus, we must never deem human rights, the very foundation of human freedom, as mere adjuncts to some larger agenda --even an agenda enacted in the name of improving humanity's lot -- which has been the stated goal of so many totalitarian regimes. Whether by starving kulaks in the Ukraine, rounding up Jews in Warsaw, raping Chinese girls in Nanking, or leaving elderly Japanese to die interned in California, this century has witnessed the use of humanity itself as a pawn for competing ideologies.
In the end, humanity's most important question is not whether fascism or communism, socialism or capitalism, environmentalism, feminism, materialism or multiculturalism will prevail. The most important question is whether our "global village" will recognize the primacy of authentic human rights, which cradle human freedom, over these ideologies.No cause is so good or so necessary that the dignity and inherent rights of human beings should be sacrificed for it.
Unfortunately, the United Nations doesn't feel that way. It has failed to confront the ideological forces that now control it and that have led it to stray far from the Declaration's vision of faith in fundamental human rights. The most dominant of these forces is the population control lobby. This force is utterly consumed by its agenda to curb population growth and believes that all other goals should serve this one. Its dominance at the United Nations means that this ideology, not an authentic human rights vision, guides the United Nations' interpretation of the Universal Declaration. Not surprisingly, human rights abuses occur as a result. Very few in U.N. circles ever question the essential premise of this ideology: that the world contains, or may soon contain, "too many people." This alone is sad evidence that the United Nations and other international institutions have chosen, either passively or actively, to take the side of ideology over human rights.
THE CASE OF CHINA
Consider for a moment just the case of the United Nations and China.
China is one of more than 30 nations that sacrifices human rights on the altar of alleged overpopulation. Its so-called "family planning" program is the most comprehensive, the largest, and arguably the most egregious. Two generations of Chinese men and women have been forced into abortion or sterilization with threats of fines, imprisonment, loss of home, or even loss of life.
To these Chinese, Article 16 of the Universal Declaration, which proclaims that "men and women have a right to marry and to found a family," is just so many words. To Chi An, a 38-year-old Chinese mother living temporarily in the United States, who received a letter from her "family planning office" demanding that she abort her second child, the Declaration is a tragic, unfulfilled promise.
It would be unjust, of course, to lay the responsibility for China's population control brutality at the United Nations' door if, for example, the U.N. Secretary General or even the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA, the United Nations' population control arm) had worked to overturn the policy, or had, at the very least, denounced it. But they have not.
Indeed, not only has the United Nations remained silent, but it has even cooperated with the policy. For example, UNFPA and the Chinese government published the booklet Training Family Planning Counselors in China, jointly with China's State Family Planning Commission and the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), which is funded by the U.S.Government. (The United States has contracted approximately $34 million in agreements dating from 1990 to 1999, according to the U.S. Agency for International Development's Office of Procurement.) The authors, all of whom belong to UNFPA, the Chinese government, or PATH, glowingly describe a program of "training the trainers" of rural "family planning programs." According to this booklet, developing the "interpersonal communication and counseling" skills of family planning workers is critical. It encourages counselors to lull Chinese women into compliance with the government's severe one-child policy. This, presumably, is a more effective mode of enforcement than the bullying, intimidation and threats that have been the enforcement method of choice in years gone by.
The UNFPA does not stop there. In early 1998, it announced that it would spend $20 million on an "experiment" in which the ever-controlling Chinese government would no longer force mothers in 32 counties to ask permission to give birth. The UNFPA billed this as a great improvement. "The government of China is keen to move away from its administrative approach to family planning, to an integrated, client centered approach," said Kerstin Trone, a UNFPA program director.
Make no mistake: The Chinese population control policy and goals remain unchanged. That the strategy of the government has changed is almost insignificant. Other pressures favoring abortion and sterilization, more subtle and sometimes more insidious, remain. For example, the Chinese government continues to deny necessary papers, including identity cards, to so-called "illegal" children. It limits the job opportunities of those not submitting to the plan. And it prohibits, by law, the adoption of "illegal" children, except by foreigners who pay the requisite fees. The UNFPA, by its silence, implicitly endorses these pressures and goals.
This is unacceptable. The United Nations has the right (indeed, the responsibility) to speak out against a government that tramples human rights in this way. When will the women of Tibet benefit from the protections of the Declaration if the UNFPA continues its present course?1
STERILIZATION CAMPAIGNS: MORE DEAFENING SILENCE
It is, of course, not just the women of China who suffer from the policies of the population control lobby.
In Peru, a huge coercive sterilization campaign has put tens of thousands of Peruvian women at risk for fatal infection.Reports are that 18 are known to have died.2 The modus operandi of this campaign has remained the same in dozens of small villages and poor neighborhoods across the country: The Ministry of Health targets the homes of the poor, or of women who have more than two or three children. Officials begin to visit these homes, again and again, to demand that the women submit to sterilization.3 They sometimes offer poor women food, clothing, and other supplies in exchange for undergoing the operation.4 In one case, a mother reported that her child had been enrolled in a nutrition program, only to be expelled when she refused sterilization.
This sterilization campaign only recently "collapsed," accordingly to government reports.5 Thousands of women have been its victims.
But surely, U.N. defenders will say, the United Nations is not responsible for this program. They should talk to the family of Juana Chero, a mother who lived in the tiny Peruvian hamlet of La Quinta. She resisted the pressure for sterilization for months, but finally succumbed in July 1997. She was taken to a building that bore a prominent plaque: "Project of the UNFPA." She underwent the unsanitary and painful surgery, only to die from complications later that night. Still, UNFPA offered no comment about the atrocities taking place in its building. There can be no question that the UNFPA creates an infrastructure and fosters an attitude that allows, even encourages, such sterilization campaigns to occur.
Cases abound in other parts of the world as well. Where was the United Nations when women were coerced or bribed in Kerala, India, into sterilizations carried out under conditions not fit for animals?6 Women report that they had to move themselves from one operating table to another and then lay on filthy floors with sheets during the "post-operative" period. Each surgery took an average of two minutes and 40 seconds to complete.7
The United Nations has also said nothing about the population control programs in Haiti and Bangladesh. The British Broadcasting Service documented the plight of women there who were lied to about Norplant as part of an alleged research project.8 So-called health officials inserted Norplant in the arms of women without providing any information about the experimental nature of the project or the potential for complications. Countless women became sick from the insertions, some even near death. Officials still refused to remove them. Reports based on this "research" later concluded, "Norplant is a contraceptive method well suited" to Haitian and Bangladeshi women.9
Similarly, no word of protest came when the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) arranged for the discount purchase and shipment of 70,000 unsterilized and thus potentially lethal intrauterine devices (Dalkon Shields) into the developing world in the 1970s.
One would think that the health arm of the United Nations, the World Health Organization (WHO), if not UNFPA, or USAID, or someone at the United Nations, would at least voice some concern about these practices and the resulting human rights abuses. But nothing is heard.
THE ROLE OF THE UNITED NATIONS AND THE PROMISE OF THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION
These women -- in Peru, in India, in Bangladesh, in Haiti, and in other developing countries -- are among the poorest and weakest in our world. They can take nothing for granted. Their rights are easy to ignore. The Universal Declaration exists for them. The United Nations has the duty to defend them in particular, for they have no other voice.
The above describes only a few instances of a much larger international pattern that has been in place for more than 30 years.Any so-called "family planning" program in the world today that is not coercive must be considered a nearly complete aberration.
What exactly should we say of the United Nations' role in all this?
In the last 30 years, an enormous superstructure has been built to support the myths of the population control lobby.Governments, foundations, universities, the United Nations, and much of the international media now have an interest in reasserting the alleged and specious link between lower birth rates and economic prosperity. This, at times, pits population control entities against those who hold a more objective view within the United Nations. The UNFPA, for example, often asserts expected levels of population growth that are at odds with the projections published by the United Nations Population Division. Interestingly, at a recent meeting of international demographers in New York, the discussion concerned not the problems of too many people, but the problems of too few.10
The responsibility for all these atrocities cannot be laid upon one organization alone, even a global one such as the United Nations. That said, it is the United Nations that enacted the Universal Declaration whose 50th Anniversary we observe this year. This document suggests that the United Nations can and should assume the unique role of declaring and defending authentic human rights in the world. The dominance of the population control lobby there has, unfortunately, prevented it from doing so.
It is time for the United Nations to confront and combat this lobby and its dangerous ideology, which has proven itself so abusive of human dignity and human rights. Until the United Nations does this, those most in need of the Universal Declaration's protection and promises will consider it a de facto lie.
David Morrison is the editor of Population Research Institute Review, the monthly newsletter of the Population Research Institute, a non-profit educational and research organization dedicated to presenting the truth about population-related issues.
ENDNOTES
1.There is every indication that it will, given the 1997 Beijing conference where officials unveiled more than 600 mobile abortion vans to provide abortion "services" to women.
2.Bermudez, "Sterilization Without Consent," Catholic World Report, March 1998, pp. 42-44.
3.Morrison, "Cutting the Poor," Population Research Institute Review, March/April 1998, p. 1.
4.Id.
5.When women were told of what was going on, tens of thousands simply refused to participate, bringing the project down.
6.As documented first in Reproductive Health Matters, No. 6, November 1995, p. 85.
7.Id.
8.The Human Laboratory, BBC Documentary, November 1995.
9.Id.
10.U.N. Population Division, Conference, Consequences and Policy Responses to Below-Replacement Fertility, 6 November 1997.
www.frc.org
NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational
purposes only. For more information go to: www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Media and Christian Bashing
From Christian Broadcasting Network
The moral platform this nation was founded on has been all but removed from the purveyors of media product, and the result has been sickening. Radio and television shock jocks, Internet pornography, Hollywood and the television industry as a whole have torn the moral fiber of our country. Never before has Christianity suffered greater attacks launched by homosexual activists and their powerful friends in the media, and never before has it been more viciously and unfairly criticized.
The Symptoms
Web porn sales totaled $140 million in 1997 and will rise to $366 million by 2001.
Sex sites rank among the most visited on the World Wide Web.
Compaq computer recently dismissed about 20 employees, mostly in Houston, each of whom logged more than 1,000 hits on sexually explicit Web sites.
Most children watch an average of 3 to 4 hours of television per day.
Each year most children spend 900 hours in school and 1500 in front of the t.v.
By age 70 most people will have spent 10 years watching television.
By the time children complete elementary school the average child will witness more than 100,000 acts of violence on tv, including 8,000 murders.
Prime time television contains 5 acts of violence per hour. Saturday morning children's cartoons contain 26 acts per hour!
Children who watch a lot of t.v. have a greater risk of obesity, increased alcohol and drug use, and earlier involvement in sexual activity.
The Deadly Grip of the Media
Whether it's violence for kids, common vulgarity, or abnormal relationships, the media has Americans in its grip.
At anytime during the day, programming is chock full of illicit sex, violence, and cynicism. Viewing habits just keep growing more perverse and insatiable, while our boundaries for acceptable content are at an all time low -We have slithered from the gutter to the grave.
Children are tempted because six to seventeen-year-olds make TV viewing their number one after-school activity. Most children spend 1500 hours by the TV, but only 900 in the classroom. And by age 70, most people will have spent ten years watching TV.
"You're sitting there, and you're getting the latest dose of what they want you to know is reality," says Tal Brooke, president of the Spiritual Counterfeits Project. He says the media are creating our reality.
And these attacks on traditional values are not just on television; they're also found on the internet -atrocities such as pornography, homosexual perversions, hints of child pornography, lures to watch pregnant women perform vile acts, and rape combined with torture and murder.
Author Ron Rhodes says there's spiritual smut on the internet as well.
"You can take online courses in tarot cards, psychic phenomena, out-of-body experiences and a variety of other forms of occultism," he says.
Occult TV shows feature bringing people back from the dead and casting spells of revenge. And on the internet, you can get supplies to cast your own spells. Even steamy soap operas are now taking a walk on the dark side.
Real or not, film critic Michael Medved says people in the media and arts hate traditional religion. "I think of the play on Broadway Corpus Christi about the gay Jesus figure," he recalls.
And in the film world, The Thin Red Line is spreading the Hindu idea that individuals are just different faces on one global being.
"We're all composing together a universal godhead," says Brooke. "It's an editorial message. It's called pantheism; it's called New Age. In what? In the middle of a World War II movie."
And while some movies encourage trusting in self rather than God, PBS suggests that the early Christians made up Jesus as Messiah as their response to the burning of Jerusalem. That's what Brooke describes in his book Conspiracy to Silence the Son of God.
And the attacks don't come just in the entertainment media. In the news media, those who speak out for Christian values are often denigrated as "intolerant," "fanatics," and even "filled with hate." From TV news to films to the internet and more, the assualts are unending.
Trash Television: Immorality Over the Airwaves
If you want convincing evidence of America's moral crisis, just turn on your television set.
You see a man exposing himself. Do this, say, in public, and you'd be arrested for indecent exposure. You could go to jail and pay a hefty fine. Expose yourself on television and it's a 6.5 Nielsen rating. Audiences love it. Millions of people are tuning in and the ratings are proving it.
Says one twenty-something male, "I watched the guy who said he had sex with a horse. It's just wild, man. It's funny."
At anytime during the day, programming is chock full of illicit sex, violence, and cynicism. Viewing habits just keep growing more perverse and insatiable, while our boundaries for acceptable content are at an all time low -- We have slithered from the gutter to the grave.
"I feel ashamed I watch this. Morally we are lost," says another man in his twenties.
"I don't like it, but I don't know what to do about it," confesses a concerned middle-aged woman.
Experts have sounded the alarm for decades that media violence has negative effects on kids. If the statistics bore you, then look at the life of this man, George Beasley. He grew up without a great deal of parental involvement, and so, his values were shaped by what he watched on TV. With that deadly combination, he became the kind of young man people fear.
"I took the route of crime because it seemed to be very adventurous. You watch TV and see...the hype, the women, the money, the fast lane that's very enticing. I could actually see myself doing this one day, and I actually began to do these things."
George, or "Killer Frank" as he was known on the street, parlayed his drug hustling ability into an overseas operation. Stationed abroad in the military, he sold drugs right out of the barracks.
"And we struck payday. I mean, the money was coming in so fast, I was scared. I had stacks and stacks of 100 dollar bills."
And it all ended that fast.
"Now you are in a federal pen. You got guys in there for murders, rapists of all kinds of different crimes. You can not show fear, [because] you are going to end up being raped, or being somebody's cell wife."
Once out of prison, reality hit George Beasley hard. No one would hire an ex-con, so he went back to dealing drugs. But inside he desperately wanted something more.
"And I don't know where I am going in life. I'm just, you know, at that point. I was just a loser, a loser."
Until one day when George turned to a Christian station.
"I get home and I turn on the TV set and here is this Christian program called The 700 Club. I never heard about it in my life, and here these guys are talking about Jesus. And when he said Jesus can change your life and set you free, I knew I needed my life to change. All of a sudden here I am for the first time in a long, long time on my knees saying the sinner's prayer to a guy named Jesus."
Today George Beasley is a devoted Christian husband and father. The last 14 years, he has been sharing with others how Jesus Christ used The 700 Club to dramatically change his life.
http://www.cbn.org/special/moralcrisis/feature6-1.asp
NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational
purposes only. For more information go to: www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
F.Y.I. - Israel in the News
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
F.Y.I. - Israel in the News
Week Ending: 16 January 1999/28 Tevet 5759
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I have made a covenant with My chosen; I have sworn to David My servant, I will establish your seed forever, and build up your throne to all generations." Psalm 89.3-4
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TERRORISTS STRIKE AGAIN: St.-Sgt. Yehoshua Gavriel, 25, was killed Wednesday night in a battle with Palestinian terrorists near the Hebron community of Otniel. The attack occurred when the terrorists ambushed a Border Police unit from behind a large road sign at the Otniel junction. Another soldier was also wounded, and is in light-to-moderate condition. One of the terrorists was apprehended after being seriously wounded, while the other escaped. Another attack had been carried out at the same junction two months ago, in which two soldiers (including one who was a resident of Otniel) were injured [see F.Y.I. 14-11-98]. The attacks occurred at an intersection used daily by residents of Otniel, Beit Haggai and other communities. Palestinian Authority (PA/PLO) sources said in Hebron that one of the men who took part in the clash is Jihad al-Tal, a senior Hamas [Islamic Resistance Movement] activist. It seems that the terrorists did not realize they were facing undercover policemen and fired thinking they were attacking Israeli civilians. (ARUTZ-7, KOL YISRAEL, ISRAEL & GLOBAL NEWS)
IS ANYBODY LISTENING? "'We are trying to capture the terrorist before he escapes into the Palestinian autonomy.' That's what an Israel Defense Force (IDF) officer told Israel radio when describing the aftermath of the shoot out near Otniel. The statement tells it all. It transcends the debate over whether or not Arafat has given a 'green light' for attacks. The fact remains that when terrorists seek refuge they prefer to go to a place that has the highest concentration of police in the region -- the Palestinian autonomy. A security force that has an intimate knowledge of the area and its people. A force that it would be next to impossible to hide from. A force that ... operates without fear of the supreme court or human rights groups. And yet, despite all this, terrorists take refuge inside the PA. Remember that: terrorists take refuge inside the PA. And it has nothing to do with the lack of 'progress' in the so-called peace process. Terrorists took refuge inside the PA when Rabin was prime minister. And terrorists took refuge inside the PA when Peres headed the government." - Dr. Aaron Lerner (IMRA)
GREEK OFFICIAL VISITS ORIENT HOUSE: Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Yannos Kranidiotis met this week with Faisal Husseini, PA/PLO Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, at the Orient House in Jerusalem - a direct violation of the Oslo Accords. Kranidiotis met later with Israeli Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon who had no knowledge of the meeting. Shortly before the incident was reported, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu asserted in an election speech that under his government, illicit PA/PLO foreign relations in Jerusalem had ceased. Under the previous Labor government, foreign dignitaries routinely visited Orient House during visits to Israel. Greek government officials later apologized to Israel explaining that though the Deputy Foreign Minister was in Israel on an official trip, he visited the Orient House as a guest of the Labor Party and Shimon Peres' International Peace Center. (ICEJ, ARUTZ-7)
GREENBERG'S OFFICES BURGLARIZED: The Washington offices of Stanley Greenberg were broken into earlier this week. Greenberg is one of Labor leader Ehud Barak's election advisors. Computer disks with information relating to the campaign and to Barak's bank accounts were stolen. The Washington police announced that the burglars also took material connected with other election campaigns for which Greenberg serves as an advisor. No suspects have been arrested as yet. Barak's press aide, Aliza Goren, called upon Labor MKs not to hastily point accusing fingers. She was referring to statements by Labor MKs Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, Ori Orr, and others against PM Netanyahu. [Editor's Note: It is important to note that if this were in fact instigated by the Labor party, it would not be the first time such an incident had happened. After Rabin's death, it was learned that members within the party had, through various governmental agencies, stirred-up acts which were attributed to the "right-wing". One of them may have even helped to encourage Rabin's killer.] Greenberg was sent by the Clinton administration to Israel, along with James Carville and Robert Shrum, to help Barak get elected. (ARUTZ-7)
EFFORTS TO UNITE RIGHT-WING: A group of twelve millionaires from the United States, led by Dr. Irving Moskowitz toured Israel this past week. Their short-range goal is to unite the parties for the upcoming elections, and to underwrite any costs that may be incurred as a result. Their long-range goal, as Dr. Moskowitz explained is to prevent further withdrawals and the division of Jerusalem. Touring with the group was US Representative Michael Forbes, R-NY. Moskowitz, who contributed to Netanyahu's successful 1996 campaign, said curtly that he was not seeking to support a specific candidate. He owns land in Jerusalem where he will be building apartments for Jewish residents. He has contributed to help buying houses from Arabs in Jerusalem for Jews to live in. In Hebron, Moskowitz was greeted by music and dance. He danced with children from the settlement, sang songs extolling Jerusalem and prayed in the Tomb of the Patriarchs. To show that he identifies not only with the "settler" communities in Judea and Samaria, Moskowitz visited Kiryat Shemonah in the north, as well as two secular kibbutzim, Manara and Margaliot. "He left a check of about $100,000 for renovations on the swimming pool in Kiryat Shemonah, and indicated that this was just the beginning of his support," stated an ARUTZ-7 reporter. (ARUTZ-7, AP)
ON THE NORTHERN FRONT: Israeli warplanes raided southern Lebanon for the fourth straight day Saturday, firing at least two air-to-surface missiles on a Hizb'Allah stronghold, security officials said. Heavy exchanges of fire raged Friday morning in southern Lebanon between Hizb'Allah terrorists and IDF and South Lebanon Army (SLA) forces. All IDF troops returned safely to their bases. The situation flared up when terrorist units shelled IDF and SLA bases throughout the Security Zone. Israeli artillery returned fire, and Israel Air Force jets bombed Hizb'Allah targets. Several hours before the exchanges of fire, SLA troops discovered and successfully neutralized two roadside bombs placed on main travel routes by Hizb'Allah fighters in the eastern sector of the Security Zone. Seven such explosive devices were discovered and destroyed by SLA on Tuesday. (AP, ARUTZ-7)
JAPAN TO MEDIATE ISRAELI-LEBANON CEASE-FIRE? Visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura, launching a Japanese mediation effort in this region, presented Israel Monday with a four-point plan for withdrawal from Lebanon. The plan, which sets out the need for Israeli forces to redeploy from southern Lebanon as a step towards a comprehensive peace in the region, does not mention assurances for security of the North. FM Sharon met with Komura in Israel. Sharon said at a news conference that Israel is ready to accept Japanese mediation toward an arrangement in Lebanon. (JERUSALEM POST, KOL YISRAEL, ISRAEL & GLOBAL NEWS)
ROSS TRIES TO RESTART WYE; US TO LESSEN ROLE? US Mideast envoy Dennis Ross met this past week with PM Netanyahu and PLO leader Yasser Arafat. Ross was continuing efforts to push the US-brokered Wye peace memorandum forward. However, Israel has frozen the Accords until the PA/PLO can control the terrorism which is, in some cases, started by Arafat's own Fatah organization.
Meanwhile, Ross said the US will play a much less active role in talks on a permanent accord. Ross was in Israel for a roundtable discussion organized by the Peres Center for Peace. (AP)
ASSAD TO BE REELECTED: The Syrian People's Assembly has set February 8 as the date for carrying out a referendum on nominating Syrian President Assad for a new term of office, to start as from March 13. According to the Syrian constitution, the president has to be elected at least one month before the end of his term of office. Assad's current term of office ends on March 12. Assad ascended to power following the "Correction Movement" held in 1970, and he became president for the first time in 1971. (ARABICNEWS)
VIOLENCE CONTINUES IN HEBRON: The curfew imposed on the Arab sections of Hebron was eased Sunday, and the occasion was marked by massive rock attacks by Arab residents. Troops used stun grenades to break up a protest march during which rocks were hurled by some demonstrators. Several members of a Chicago-based violence monitoring group, the "Christian Peacemaker Teams", were arrested briefly after placing their bodies between Israeli soldiers' rifles and protestors. Sunday night an explosive device was exploded near Beit Kastel. On Monday the curfew was completely lifted. A Jewish motorist was injured when Arabs threw rocks at his car from the Jelazun refugee camp, near Beit El.
Over 100 people, led by Nadia Matar and the Women in Green marched from Kiryat Arba to Beit Hadassah in Hebron. Nadia Matar said at the outset of the march, "We are here to give strength to the residents of Hebron and Kiryat Arba, and to show them that they are not alone." They walked through the streets holding a long ribbon joining all together.
When they reached Beit Hadassah the group was joined by Mrs. Flori Hofi, who was shot in both legs during last week's terrorist attack. The group heard speeches from several people, including Hebron spokesman David Wilder and Kiryat Arba attorney Eliyakim HaEtzni.
Sunday morning construction began on a new building in Hebron, to be called "Beit HaShisha". This name literally means "The House of the Six", commemorating the memory of six young men killed in a terrorist attack at this very site in the spring of 1980. The new building will include four new apartments, as well as two additional apartments added to the top of Beit Shneerson, next to Beit Hadassah.
Mrs. Fanny Elazra, the Hebron nursery school teacher critically wounded in last week's terrorist attack, was released Friday from Hadassah hospital in Jerusalem. Mrs. Elazra was hit in the chest and neck by terrorist bullets. Miraculously, none of her vital organs were damaged, and thank G-d, due to excellent medical care at the time of the attack, she survived and will fully recover. The entire Hebron community wishes Fanny Elazra "baruch rofe holim" - "Praised be He who heals the sick". (ARUTZ-7, ICEJ, HEBRON PRESS OFFICE)
PA/PLO SMUGGLING ARMS: The PA/PLO has smuggled a number of antiaircraft guns and dozens of antitank missile launchers into the areas under its control, in contravention of the Oslo accords. This was disclosed by FM Sharon Tuesday at a meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Sharon said that to date, the PA/PLO have implemented only "a very small part of the Wye agreement". He also noted that the PA/PLO possess thousands of handguns, assault rifles and submachine guns, ammunition for light weapons, heavy machine guns, thousands of hand grenades and a few mortars, thousands of mines, thousands of kg of explosives, and hundreds of antitank grenades. (ISRAEL & GLOBAL NEWS, MA'ARIV)
PERES CALLS FOR PALESTINIAN STATE: Shimon Peres received a rousing wave of applause Monday from the Palestinian Legislative Council when he announced that he is in favor of a Palestinian state.
Peres was accompanied to the session in Ram'Allah by international guests of the Peres Center for Peace, such as Michael Gorbachev, Henry Kissinger, and others. Gorbachev also addressed the Council as did Yasser Arafat. Benny Begin, reacting to Peres' remarks, said that they simply show what were his true intentions when he initiated the Oslo process over five years ago. HA'ARETZ newspaper reports that Labor Party Chairman MK Ehud Barak is furious at Peres for endorsing a Palestinian State. Barak expressed concern that PM Netanyahu will take advantage of Peres' remarks to hurt the Labor party in the election campaign. Arafat, meanwhile, has been under pressure from different places to delay the proclamation of statehood. The request has come from people such as US Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., and Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura in addition to many Arab countries such as Egypt.
FM Sharon was quoted on Wednesday as saying he could envision the establishment of a Palestinian state, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Sharon, who was in Paris to meet with French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine, was quoted in an interview with LE MONDE published on Wednesday as saying, "Autonomy will lead to a Palestinian state". after being asked if he could envision such a thing.
Israel would annex the disputed territories still under its control if the PA/PLO makes good on its threat unilaterally to declare an independent state in May, PM Netanyahu reiterated. (ARUTZ-7, ISRAEL LINE, AP)
BALFOUR DECLARATION'S AUTHOR WAS A SECRET JEW: Leopold Amery, the author of the Balfour Declaration - the 1917 document from British foreign secretary Arthur Balfour to Lord Rothschild which laid the groundwork for the establishment of the State of Israel - was a secret Jew. This has been disclosed in just-published research by William Rubinstein, professor of modern history at the University of Wales, who says Amery hid his Jewish background. According to Rubinstein's research, Amery's mother was born to Jewish parents in 1841 and was named Elisabeth Joanna Saphir. Both of her parents were Jewish, says Rubinstein, who adds that Amery himself changed his middle name from Moritz to Maurice in an attempt to disguise its origins. As assistant secretary to the war cabinet, Amery not only drafted the Balfour Declaration, but also was responsible for establishing the Jewish Legion, the first organized Jewish fighting force since Roman times, which proved to be the forerunner of the modern Israel Defense Forces.
Rubinstein's disclosures are contained in the February edition of HISTORY TODAY. (JERUSALEM POST)
ARAB LEAGUE CONDEMNS ISRAEL'S POLICIES: The Arab League has denounced the policy conducted by Israel in demolishing Arab houses in the Palestinian territories. In a statement issued in Cairo on Wednesday the Arab League asserted that the Israeli practices exceeded those acts of atrocity carried out by Nazis during the 1940s. The statement described these Israeli acts as grossly violating provisions of the 1949 Geneva Convention as well as international law and human rights principles. The AL, moreover, called on the international community to shoulder its responsibility of confronting Israel's aggressive practices and compel it to honor legitimacy resolutions. [For some reason, the Arab League did not address the violence, corruption and terrorism of the PLO. Nor did they address the fact that the Arabs supported the Nazis during WWII. In fact, they even helped finance them-ed]
THIS WEEK IN JEWISH HISTORY:
January 10, 1784 Louis XVI (France) abolished the poll-tax on Jews in Alsace-Lorraine. This tariff, the same as for market animals was paid by Jews who wished to enter certain cities. The poll tax had been instituted in many countries in Europe, dating back as far as the Roman Emperor Domitian (93CE) though it was only adopted in Europe in the 14th century.
January 11, 1935 Hakibbutz Hadati, the religious kibbutz movement, was founded. This kibbutz movement was affiliated with the HaPoel HaMizrachi movement, the religious Zionist Labor Organization. Its idea was to combine religious life and labor in a communal agricultural settlement. The first such Kibbutz was Tirat Tzvi.
January 12, 1493 1493: Jews were expelled from Sicily, which had become a province of Aragon in 1412. The Jews never really returned there, despite an invitation during the 1800's.
1812 (24 Tevet 5573): The death of Shneur Zalman (Liady, b. 1747). He founded an intellectualized form of Hassidism called Habad (Chabad). The name is derived from the initials Hachma (wisdom), Binah (understanding) and Daat (knowledge). His intention was to bridge the gap between the Mitnagdim (opponents of Hassidism) and the Hassidim, combining intellectualism and mysticism.
January 13 1825: In Russia, Alexander I expelled all the Jews from Mohilev and Vitebsk prior to his death.
January 14, 1866 In Switzerland, Jewish rights are ratified. Switzerland had been the scene of some of the worst massacres during the Black Plague and a hotbed of anti-Jewish edicts. This legislation was only passed after the United States, Britain and France refused to sign treaties until their anti-Jewish cantons were repealed.
January 15 1630: In Santa Engracia (Lisbon), Simon dias Solis, a Marrano, was arrested for allegedly stealing a silver vessel from the Church. After being dragged through the streets, his hands were cut off and he was later burned. The real culprit, a common (Christian) criminal, admitted to the crime one year later. As a result, Solis's brother, a friar, fled to Amsterdam and reconverted to Judaism.
1866: In Switzerland, Jews were finally granted equal rights. It took yet another seven years for the Constitution to be changed.
1888 (27 Tevet): This date marks the passing of Samson Raphael Hirsch, father of modern Jewish orthodoxy (born 1808). As rabbi of Frankfurt, he formulated his philosophy stressing that tradition could satisfy modern society without losing orthodoxy. His vast works include his philosophical Horeb, Nineteen Letters of Ben Uziel, and his commentaries on the Bible, the Psalms and the Siddur. He was a staunch opponent of the Reform movement in Germany.
January 16, 1600 After completion of their synagogue, the 400 hundred Jews of Verona, Italy moved into the ghetto. This date was actually celebrated as a "Purim" until the French revolution, since many felt that the ghetto provided some protection. Furthermore, in an unusual move, the keys of the ghetto were given to the Jewish leaders.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FYI - Israel In The News
"For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace,
and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest" Isaiah 62:1
'F.Y.I.' may be reproduced & distributed in any form. Please give proper credit.
Send comments to Lee Underwood at: fyi@tzemach.org
Web site: http://www.tzemach.org/fyi
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Does God Still Speak To Us?
A young man had been to Wednesday night Bible Study. ThePastor had shared about listening to God and obeying the Lord's voice. The young man couldn't help but wonder, "Does God still speak to people?" After service he went out with some friends for coffee and pie and they discussed the message. Several different ones talked about how God had led them in different ways. It was about ten o'clock when the young man started driving home. Sitting in his car, he just began to pray, "God.. If you still speak to people, speak to me. I will listen. I will do my best to obey." As he drove down the main street of his town, he had the strangest thought. Stop and buy a gallon of milk.
He shook his head and said out loud, "God is that you?" He didn't get a reply and started on toward home. But again, the thought, buy a gallon of milk. The young man thought about Samuel and how he didn't recognize the voice of God, and how little Samuel ran to Eli. "Okay, God, in case that is you, I will buy the milk." It didn't seem like too hard a test of obedience. He could always use the milk. He stopped and purchased the gallon of milk and started off toward home.
As he passed Seventh Street, he again felt an urge, "Turn down that street." This is crazy he thought and drove on pass the intersection. Again, he felt that he should turn down Seventh Street. At the next intersection, he turned back and headed down Seventh. Half jokingly, he said out loud, "Okay, God, I will." He drove several blocks, when suddenly, he felt like he should stop. He pulled over to the curb and looked around. He was in semi-commercial area of town. It wasn't the best but it wasn't the worst of neighborhoods either.
The businesses were closed and most of the houses looked dark like the people were already in bed. Again, he sensed something, "Go and give the milk to the people in the house across the street." The young man looked at the house. It was dark and it looked like the people were either gone or they were already asleep. He started to open the door and then sat back in the car seat. "Lord, this is insane. Those people are asleep and if I wake them up, they are going to be mad and I will look stupid." Again, he felt like he should go and give the milk. Finally, he opened the door, "Okay God, if this is you, I will go to the door and I will give them the milk. If you want me to look like a crazy person, okay. I want to be obedient. I guess that will count for something but if they don't answer right away, I am out of here."
He walked across the street and rang the bell. He could hear some noise inside. A man's voice yelled out, "Who is it? What do you want?" Then the door opened before the young man could get away. The man was standing there in his jeans and t-shirt. He looked like he just got out of bed. He had a strange look on his face and he didn't seem too happy to have some stranger standing on his doorstep. "What is it?" The young man thrust out the gallon of milk, "Here, I brought this to you."
The man took the milk and rushed down a hall way speaking loudly in Spanish. Then from down the hall came a woman carrying the milk toward the kitchen. The man was following her holding a baby. The baby was crying. The man had tears streaming down his face. The man began speaking and half crying, "We were just praying. We had some big bills this month and we ran out of money. We didn't have any milk for our baby. I was just praying and asking God to show me how to get some milk." His wife in the kitchen yelled out, "I asked him to send an Angel with some.. Are you an Angel?" The young man reached into his wallet and pulled out all the money he had on him and put in the man's hand. He turned and walked back toward his car and the tears were streaming down his face. He knew that God still answers prayers.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A Different Kind of a Bible:
This is a story about a soldier in the North Africa Campaign in World War II. After heavy fighting the men returned to camp. The next day being Sunday, the Chaplain had set up church service. The men were asked to take out their Bibles or prayer book. The Chaplain noticed one soldier looking at a deck of cards. After the service he was taken by the Chaplain to see the Major.
The Chaplain explained to the Major of what he had seen. The Major told the young soldier how he would have to be punished if he could not explain himself. The young soldier told the Major that during the battle he had neither a Bible or prayer book so he would use his deck of cards and explained...........
* "You see Sir, when I look at the Ace, it tells me that there is one God and no other.
* When I see the 2 , it reminds me there is two parts of the Bible, the Old and New Testaments.
* The 3 tells me of the Trinity, of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
* The 4 reminds me of the four Gospels, There was Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
* When I see the 5, it tells me of the five unwise virgins who were lost and five were saved.
* The 6 makes me mindful that God created the earth in just six days, and God said that it was good so He rested on the 7th day.
* As I look at the 8, God destroyed all life by water except eight people. There was Noah and his wife, their three sons and their wives.
* When I see the 9, I think of the nine lepers that God healed. There were ten in all but only one stopped to Thank Him.
* The 10 tells me of the "Ten Commandments" carved in stone by the hand of God.
* The Jack makes me remember the prince of darkness. Like a roaring lion that devours those he can.
* When I look at the Queen, I see blessed Mary, Mother of Jesus.
* As I look at the last card I see the KING, this reminds me Jesus is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings!
* There is 365 spots on the cards, the number of days in a year.
* There is 52 cards to a deck, the number of weeks in a year.
* There is 12 picture cards, the number of months in a year.
* There are 4 cards to a suit, the number of months in a quarter.
* There are 13 suits, the number of weeks in a quarter."
........And so the young soldier then said to the Major, "You see Sir that my intentions were honorable. My deck of cards serves as my Bible, Prayer book and Almanac."
Submitted by BonVal@aol.com Posted From: Tidbits Daily Devotional
