Update 1009

Preaching the Gospel and Feeding the Flock

compiled by Dave Harris

“Why Canada’s Justin Trudeau Is so Dangerous,” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary: 

Recently, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s official statement about the death of Cuba’s Fidel Castro in November of 2016 resurfaced in the news, and his comments are indeed stunning and extremely revealing in light of what is happening in Canada right now. Trudeau’s declarations in 2016 were strongly condemned, but might reflect how Trudeau ticks. This program analyzes the actions of dictator Fidel Castro and compares them with what is happening in Canada right now. 

A Tech Meeting was held on February 6, 2021, via Google Meet. Conducted by Eric Rank, it was noted that our Sabbath live broadcast has greatly improved and additional equipment is being added to sustain this. Emphasis was presented for developing ad campaigns with further assignments given to achieve a target date in early March.

“Warum diese gottlose Welt der Niedertracht?” is the title of this Sabbath’s new German sermon, presented by Norbert Link. Title in English: “Why this Godless World of Wretchedness?”

“Müssen Christen den Sabbat halten?” the sermonette presented last Sabbath in Germany by Tahir Coban, is now posted. Title in English: “Do Christians Have to Keep the Sabbath?”

“A World in Rebellion and Confusion –Comments on News and Prophecy, February 5, 2022,” the first message presented last Sabbath by Norbert Link, is now posted. Here is a summary:

When reviewing recent developments in the Western world and especially in the USA, Canada, Germany, Austria and other Western nations, we find an abominable spirit of rebellion against God and His righteous and just Word. Christians must be aware of that and have a different mindset, if they want to have God’s protection.

“The Spirit Bears Witness,” the sermon presented last Sabbath by Norbert Link, is now posted. Here is a summary:

John tells us in his first letter that the blood, the water and the Spirit bear witness. Previous sermons discussed the blood and the water. In this sermon, we will concentrate on the Spirit, showing of what it bears witness,  and how and in what way “these three agree as one.

This Week in the News

WARNING! Despicable Animal Experiments with Aborted Baby Parts under Fauci’s Direction

 Life News wrote on February 4:

“When it comes to the grisly use of aborted baby parts for dubious scientific research in America, a new report shows embattled NIH director Anthony Fauci is behind most of the funding. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), which Fauci directs, is behind $27 million in taxpayer funding for research involving tissue or body parts from babies killed in abortions, or approximately 80% of the funding for all such research in the United States.”

In quoting from an article by Fox News, the paper wrote:

“‘The White Coat Waste Project (WCW), which opposes animal experimentation, looked through NIH data to uncover the scope of funding, which includes support for things like transplanting fetal lungs, liver and thymus into mice…  NIH expects to spend $88 million on this type of research in fiscal year… 22.’”

LifeSiteNews continued:

“Christine McPherson, Development Manager of WCW, said in a statement to Fox: ‘A majority of Republican and Democrat taxpayers don’t want to be forced to pay university white coats tens of millions of dollars each year to implant fingers, scalps, eyes and other parts from aborted human fetuses into monkeys and mice for nightmarish experiments.’

“Recently, the University of Pittsburgh continued to defend its gruesome experiments involving implanting aborted babies’ scalps onto rodents and other research with aborted baby body parts, citing a new investigation this week that found its research is ‘fully compliant’ with state and federal laws. [Republican legislators are still looking for answers, suggesting that the recent investigation was woefully inadequate.] The university commissioned the outside investigation last year after Judicial Watch and the Center for Medical Progress exposed evidence of babies potentially being born alive in abortions and other disturbing practices at the university. The evidence came from documents they obtained from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through a Freedom of Information Act request…

“One horrific experiment at the university involved scalping second-trimester aborted babies and then implanting their scalps onto rodents to study the human immune system…

“The Center for Medical Progress and several doctors, including one who supports abortion, also pointed to documents and statements from university officials that suggest some aborted babies’ hearts still may be beating when their organs are harvested for scientific research….

“In a House Appropriations hearing in May, Fauci was asked about the NIAID’s funding of Pitt experiments grafting scalps from 18- to 20-week aborted fetuses onto rats, and if the agency is aware of where the fetuses come from. Fauci replied that the study went through ‘all the appropriate guidelines and oversight.’ [So, Fauci did not answer the question which is very revealing.]

“[David Daleiden, founder of the Center for Medical Progress] skewered Fauci’s response as ‘outrageous,’ [saying] intact scalps used, which can be seen in pictures included in the study, are only obtainable at the size shown through a partial-birth abortion. ‘Intact heads’ would not be obtainable through ‘dismemberment abortion where the skull is going to be crushed,’ Daleiden explained.

“[The] University of Pittsburgh… has been using Americans’ tax dollars to become a ‘tissue hub’ for aborted baby body parts for scientific research for years. According to the documents obtained by Judicial Watch and the Center for Medical Progress, the university… has received at least $2.7 million so far.”

WARNING! More Abominable Experiments

Fox News also wrote on February 4:

“Fauci’s institute has come under fire for research surrounding the coronavirus, among other things. More recently, WCW uncovered an experiment in which dogs were injected with cocaine. Other experiments involving humanized mice have surfaced.

“One study involved humanizing mice through ‘reconstitution with human fetal liver’… Another study… entailed studying fetal eye cells… Fetal lungs were also incorporated…. Besides attempting to grow fetal kidneys, Ganogen also experimented with placing fetal hearts in lab rats and posted a video of a fetal heart beating inside of a rodent…

“Last year, the Senate rejected an amendment geared toward criminalizing participation in research that created certain chimeras, or human-animal hybrids… ‘Dr. Fauci’s funding of research using aborted fetal tissue is disgusting and indefensible,’ said Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich…

“The University of Pittsburgh has also been suspected of utilizing trafficked or illegally obtained tissue…”

Let’s not forget Fauci’s despicable experiments on beagles.

The Herald-Tribune reported on November 9:

“These taxpayer dollars funded barbaric trials that involved injecting dozens of beagles with experimental drugs before murdering and dissecting them. To make matters worse, these beagles were puppies between the ages of six to eight months.

“Even more heinous, reports were also uncovered revealing that Fauci authorized the vocal cords of the beagles to be cut so that they could not cry while being tortured… In 2016 Fauci authorized experiments where infectious sand flies were strapped to beagles to feed on them for 22 months before the beagles were killed.”

The Sun added on December 30, 2021:

“In October, the non-profit organization White Coat Waste Project accused Fauci of funding a project that had beagles infected with disease-causing parasites in order to test an experimental drug. It claimed the beagle puppies were locked in cages with hungry sandflies that would eat them alive.

“The Hill reports that a bipartisan group of 24 House Representatives has written a letter demanding that Fauci answer to the claims by the nonprofit. The organization claims that as many as 44 beagle puppies were used as part of the cruel experiment in a Tunisia laboratory… ‘Our investigators show that Fauci’s NIH division shipped part of a $375,800 grant to a lab in Tunisia to drug beagles and lock their heads in mesh cages filled with hungry sandflies so that the insects could eat them alive,’ White Coat Waste told The Hill. ‘They also locked beagles alone in cages in the desert overnight for nine consecutive nights to use them as bait to attract infectious sand flies,’ they added.”

The liberal left-wing mass media was anxious to somehow rebut this story, although the NIH [National Institute of Health] admitted that some of the beagles had their vocal cords cut, insisting that the practice was common in scientific settings to reduce noise levels.

But consider this article, published by The Sun on December 30, 2021:

“Peta has accused the NIH and other labs of purchasing 5,000 beagle dogs and puppies over the past decade from Virginia-based supplier Envigo for experiments where the dogs were allegedly confined and some tortured. It also accused Envigo of running a ‘puppy mill’ where dogs were abused in conditions so bad that some of them died. An investigator from Peta claimed to have found 360 dogs dead, according to Fox News… Peta has claimed that Envigo keeps 5,000 beagles at the location and breeds around 500 puppies per month to sell for experimentation…

“[Fauci’s] spokesman told the Washington Post that the company believed that PETA’s allegations are ‘misleading and lacking important context’… adding that animal experimentation is ‘essential’ in developing medicines, vaccines, and other medical devices…”

Dr. Fauci should be fired immediately and be held accountable for these alleged terrible and inhumane experiments under his direction. Further, it should be obvious that Dr. Fauci has lost all credibility.

China’s Record of Horror

The Sun wrote on February 5:

“The world’s eyes have descended on Beijing as the glitzy opening ceremony kicked off the 2022 games. But hidden from view are the hideous human rights abuses allegedly carried out like clockwork by the regime. Gory executions, brutal torture and ‘concentration camps’ are just some the of vile measures the Communist regime has allegedly inflicted on its own people for decades… As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, it’s feared China will put on a glossy and carefully stage-managed image to the rest of the world as the Communists attempt to airbrush their horrendous history of show trials, executions, and some of the worst torture imaginable – let alone alleged genocide.

“Ahead of the games, China has been determined to crush any sign of dissent, and officials have warned that even foreign athletes who make political statements would be subject to ‘certain punishment’…

“In its 100 year history, the Communist party has run a murderous regime… Thousands are thought to perish each year at the bloody hands of authorities using firing squads, lethal injections and mobile death vans. The true numbers of those killed by the Communist Party are thought to be staggeringly high…

“With successive leaders over this period, the regime has crushed peaceful opposition with anyone falling foul of the Communist Party facing the abyss of mental or physical death… human rights groups believe China has detained more than one million Uyghur Muslims against their will over the past few years.

“Hundreds of thousands have been incarcerated in a network of what the state calls ‘re-education camps’ – but what has been branded by some as ‘concentration camps’. There is also evidence they are being used as forced labour in factories producing goods for well-known western brands… And from the 90s and into the 00s it is claimed China sought to ‘eradicate’ the Falun Gong religious movement…”

Terrible what evil people and governments, following Satan, are willing to do to their fellow man.

Russia Bans Deutsche Welle in Retaliation of Germany’s Ban of RT

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 4:

“A decision by the Russian government to shut down Deutsche Welle’s Moscow office and withdraw accreditation from the German broadcaster’s journalists in Russia came into effect on Friday at 9 a.m. local time… The Russian Foreign Ministry announced a day earlier that it was canceling DW’s broadcasting license in Russia, calling it a response to the ban of the Russian broadcaster RT DE in Germany….

“Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said if Germany moved to end the dispute over RT’s licensing, Moscow would respond in kind… German officials have called the comparison between RT and DW a false equivalence because DW is a taxpayer-funded independent public service broadcaster rather than a state-owned channel… German government spokesman Wolfgang Büchner on Friday condemned Russia’s DW ban…

“The European Union also slammed the ‘unjustified’ move by Russia… Germany’s Foreign Ministry said the decision would ‘represent a renewed strain on German-Russian relations.’”

On February 3, Deutsche Welle wrote the following in another article:

“Public broadcasters ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio all condemned the closure, saying it turned press freedom into a bargaining chip…

“Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed Germany was responsible for an attack on freedom of speech by not granting RT DE a broadcasting license, despite allowing Russian journalists to remain in Germany, attend press events and report from the country…”

Russia’s reaction to Germany’s ban of RT was somewhat predictable, but the sleepy and somewhat hypocritical German government did not see it coming, it seems.

German Troops to Lithuania, but not Ukraine

Deutsche Welle reported on February 6:

“Germany does not rule out sending additional troops to Lithuania, Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said…  ‘We (Germany) are already making a very important contribution in Lithuania, where we are the only country in the European Union to have a battlegroup,’ Lambrecht said… Germany has been the leading nation in the NATO operation in Lithuania for five years and provides around half of the 1,200 men and women in the multinational unit.

“Lambrecht also defended Germany’s refusal to supply arms to Kyiv, after Ukraine’s embassy in Germany sent a list with requests to the foreign and defense ministries in Berlin.”

This is ridiculous German hypocrisy. But it all works out according to prophecy.

Scholz Went to Washington

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 7:

“Biden said there would be no chance of the project going ahead if Russian tanks and troops crossed the Ukraine border. ‘There will no longer be a Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it. I promise you we’ll be able to do that.’… When pressed on Nord Stream 2, Scholz avoided mentioning the project explicitly but repeated his message of solidarity….”

Deutsche Welle added on February 8:

“Despite presenting a unified front, their statements also revealed divisions in Berlin and Washington’s approach to Russia… there is discord between the two sides, particularly in regards to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and potential sanctions towards Russia… it’s unclear whether Germany will really be willing to shut down the controversial pipeline project…  [Deutsche Welle wrote in an accompanying article that, “with much of its natural gas imported from Russia, Berlin remains reluctant to commit to using the pipeline as a bargaining tool.”]

“Germany and the United States have not clearly stated ‘what kinds of sanctions will be imposed in the case of the Russian incursion.’… there seems to be ‘disunity’ not only between Germany and the US, but also other NATO allies… Germany’s neighbor, France, may also be willing to differ from common NATO and US positions when it comes to the Russia-Ukraine crisis… Macron also recently told French media that it is ‘legitimate’ for Russia to raise concerns about its security, an idea which has been roundly rejected by the US and NATO…”

The New York Times commented on Scholz’ meeting with Biden and the subsequent press conference: “On Ukraine, Germany Is Nowhere to Be Seen.” The Telegraph wrote: “Once again, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz offers only evasions on Russia.” Bild Online spoke about a huge rift between Biden and Scholz.

How Biden Has Helped Putin

Express wrote on February 6:

“By scrapping America’s KeystoneXL Pipeline [on his first day in office] and imposing ‘harsh’ regulations on its gas industry, the US President has been accused of ‘letting Europe become more dependent on Russian gas’. KeystoneXL was a planned 1,179-mile (1,897km) pipeline running from the oil sands of Alberta, Canada, to Steele City, Nebraska. It was intended to join an existing pipe and could carry 830,000 barrels of oil each day… The [European] bloc already depends on Russia for 40 percent of its gas supplies…

“Mr Putin has been accused of deliberately slashing gas deliveries travelling into the EU through its vast network of pipelines… As Ukraine is a key transit country for Russia’s gas to reach the EU, there are fears gas could get cut amid the conflict…. having waived sanctions on a new [Nord Stream 2] gas pipeline [that will transit gas from Russia to Germany once it gets approved] back in May last year, Mr Biden was accused of taking a soft line on Russia.”

It is amazing how Mr. Biden’s decisions add to a prophetic picture which is so detrimental to America and its Western allies.

Russia Predicts Unification with Ukraine

Russian-sponsored and controlled RT wrote on February 6:

“Ukraine could ultimately join a union state with Russia and Belarus as soon as 15 years from now if ‘mistakes’ are avoided during the current crisis, President Alexander Lukashenko predicted in an interview with YouTube… The main problem is that the ongoing crisis is being stoked from across the Atlantic, he claimed, accusing Washington of actively pushing Kiev into a war with Russia…”

It won’t take 15 years until Russia and Ukraine are united.

Why Europe Needs an Army

The EUObserver wrote on February 8:

“The last few years have shown that the US cannot and does not want to be the policeman of the world anymore. Additionally, Russia and China seem to be aligning their strategies – one targeting Ukraine, and the other Taiwan.

“A military takeover would not only wipe two democracies off the earth, it would also hit Europe in its heart… The EU must… be careful not to make the same mistakes as the Roman Empire – which fell victim to decadence and the idea that its own security could be outsourced to others. Even in the European Union, countries hardly invest in their armed forces. Worse, many countries are opposed to a common European foreign and security policy. They remain stuck in the idea that the US will continue to keep us safe through Nato.

“This is naïve…

“It is therefore high time to make progress towards an European army based on a common foreign policy… A survey of European citizens has shown that the need for a European army is perceived as the most urgent.”

Israel Might Still Attack Iran even if there is a Deal

Time of Israel and The associated press wrote on February 6:

“Prime Minister Naftali Bennett implied Sunday that Israel could launch a military strike against Iran even if the Islamic Republic and world powers revive their 2015 nuclear deal… ‘Our position is well-known and clear: An agreement – according to the apparent terms – will damage the ability to deal with the nuclear program. Anyone who thinks that an agreement will increase stability is mistaken… It will temporarily delay enrichment but all of us in the region will pay a heavy, disproportionate price for it.’…

“On Friday, as US negotiators headed back to Vienna for what could be a make-or-break session. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed several sanctions waivers related to Iran’s civilian nuclear activities… Friday’s move lifts the sanctions threat against foreign countries and companies from Russia, China and Europe that had been cooperating with non-military parts of Iran’s nuclear program under the terms of the 2015 deal…”

Trump vs. Pence

Fox News wrote on February 4:

“Former Vice President Mike Pence delivered a speech in Florida Friday and pushed back against claims from former President Trump and his supporters that he had the ability to use his power to contest the 2020 presidential election. ‘There are those in our party who believe that as the presiding officer over the joint session of Congress, I possessed unilateral authority to reject electoral college votes,’ Pence said in the speech to the Federalist Society. ‘And this week, our former president said I had the right to overturn the election. President Trump is wrong… I had no right to overturn the election.’ Pence continued, ‘Frankly there is almost no idea more un-American than the notion that any one person could choose the American president.’

“Pence explained that ‘under Article II Section One, elections are conducted at the state level, not by Congress’ and that ‘the only role of Congress with respect to the electoral college is to open and count votes submitted and certified by the states.’..

“Pence also referred to the January 6 riot as a ‘dark day in the history of the United States Capitol.’..

“Pence’s comments come days after Trump voiced his belief that his vice president, via the Electoral Count Act, had the ability to send the electoral votes back to the states. ’The Vice President did have this right or, more pointedly, could have sent the votes back to various legislators for reassessment after so much fraud and irregularities were found,’ Trump said. ‘If it were sent back to the legislators, or if Nancy Pelosi, who is in charge of Capitol security, had taken my recommendation and substantially increased security, there would have been no “January 6” as we know it!’

“Pence’s speech comes as speculation about his 2024 presidential ambitions run rampant, as do questions about his current relationship with Trump following their vocal disagreement on the outcome of the 2020 election…”

Newsmax wrote on February 4:

“Former President Donald Trump clapped back on Friday night to comments made by his former vice president earlier in the day…  criticizing Pence’s statement to the crowd of conservative lawyers… ‘Just saw Mike Pence’s statement on the fact that he had no right to do anything with respect to the Electoral Vote Count, other than being an automatic conveyor belt for the Old Crow Mitch McConnell to get Biden elected President as quickly as possible,’ Trump said. ‘Well, the Vice President’s position is not an automatic conveyor if obvious signs of voter fraud or irregularities exist. That’s why the Democrats and RINOs are working feverishly together to change the very law that Mike Pence and his unwitting advisors used on January 6 to say he had no choice.’

“The former president said that he was ‘right and everyone knows it,’ and that officials in both parties are attempting to change the rules to prevent a similar event from happening again. ‘The reason they want it changed is because they now say they don’t want the Vice President to have the right to ensure an honest vote,’ Trump said. ‘If there is fraud or large scale irregularities, it would have been appropriate to send those votes back to the legislatures to figure it out,’ he added. ‘The Dems and RINOs want to take that right away…’”

Trump has a point. If it is that clear that under the law, Pence could not have refused to certify the election, why then the anxious attempts to change the law?

Republican Party Censors Cheney and Kinzinger

Newsmax wrote on February 4:

“The Republican National Committee formally voted  Friday to censure Reps. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., for participating in the House probe into the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.

“The resolution… read in part:

“‘The conference must not be sabotaged by Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger who have demonstrated, with actions and words, that they support Democrat efforts to destroy President Trump more than they support winning back a Republican majority in 2022. Representatives Cheney and Kinzinger have engaged in actions in their positions as members of the January 6th select committee not befitting Republican members of Congress, which include the committee’s disregard for minority rights, traditional checks and balances, due process, and adherence to other precedent and rules of the U.S. House and which seem intent on advancing a political agenda to buoy the Democrat Party’s bleak prospects in the upcoming midterm elections.

“‘The Republican National Committee hereby formally censures Representatives Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and shall immediately cease any and all support of them as members of the Republican Party for their behavior which has been destructive to the institution of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Republican Party and our republic, and is inconsistent with the position of the Conference.’”

San Diego’s Highest Electricity Rate in the Nation

CBS8 wrote on February 3:

“San Diegans have been shocked by their recent power bills, and now CBS 8 has confirmed that we are paying higher rates than any other city in the country… ‘“The price per kilowatt is the highest in the country,’ said Edward Lopez, Executive Director of Utility Consumers’ Action Network (UCAN). ‘San Diego is even out-passing Hawaii, which is not even on the mainland’… A SDG&E spokesperson pointed to the 2007 wildfires started by the company’s power lines. He said that $3 billion has been spent since then hardening their system, including replacing wood poles with steel and undergrounding wires… Lopez questions why ratepayers have to foot the entire bill, getting no help from shareholders.

“SDG&E is owned by Sempra, a publicly traded company. In their most recent year-to-year figures, Sempra reported a profit of over $9 billion, but SDG&E recently raised our rates again…SDG&E is not allowed to simply raise rates on their own, they have to get permission from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)….”

CPUC is a regulatory agency that regulates privately owned public utilities in the state of California, including electric power, telecommunications, natural gas and water companies. Five commissioners each serve staggered six-year terms as the governing body of the agency. Commissioners are appointed by the governor and must be confirmed by the California State Senate.

ABC 10 wrote on August 23, 23021:

“‘Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office exerted control over a powerful state agency… We do whatever the governor tells us to do, period,’ former CPUC executive director Alice Stebbins said. ‘You don’t do anything without [Gov. Newsom’s] staff reviewing it or talking to you or approving it….’”

So, why are Newsom and his staff approving obscenely high electricity rates?

Fox 5 San Diego added on February 1: “Customers across the county are experiencing sticker shock at their San Diego Gas & Electric bills this winter. One customer told FOX 5 their January SDG&E bill jumped to $700 from the normal $200 a month.”

It seems that on an average, customers’ bills were twice as high in February as in January.

Politicians more Dangerous than Covid

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on February 6:

“The denigration of the Canadian trucker protest convoy exemplifies how freedom is now the biggest villain of the covid-19 pandemic.

“A Washington Post cartoonist portrayed the trucker convoy as ‘fascism’ incarnate while another Post column derided the ‘toxic ‘Freedom Convoy.’” Anyone who resists any government command is apparently now a public enemy….

“Politicians like Trudeau and Biden, who fuel mass rage against any group that does not kowtow to officialdom, are sowing seeds of hatred that will proliferate long after the pandemic ends. In the long run, people have more to fear from politicians than from viruses.”

Sadly, this assessment rings very true.

Liberal Media Ignores Illuminating Report on COVID Restrictions

Fox News wrote on February 4:

“There has been a full-on media blackout of the new study outlining the ineffectiveness of lockdowns to prevent COVID deaths. According to a Johns Hopkins University meta-analysis of several studies, lockdowns during the first COVID wave in the spring of 2020 only reduced COVID mortality by .2% in the U.S. and Europe… the researchers wrote[:] ‘… lockdown policies are ill-founded and should be rejected as a pandemic policy instrument.’

“However, the Johns Hopkins study received no mention on any of the five liberal networks this week… CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS and NBC all ignored the anti-lockdown findings after having spent much of the pandemic shaming red states with minimal restrictions and events deemed by critics as ‘superspreaders.’…

“The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Associated Press, Reuters, USA Today, Axios, Politico among other outlets also turned a blind eye to the findings…

“The researchers… analyzed the effects of lockdown measures such as school shutdowns, business closures, and mask mandates on COVID-19 deaths. ‘We find little to no evidence that mandated lockdowns in Europe and the United States had a noticeable effect on COVID-19 mortality rates…’ The researchers also examined shelter-in-place orders, finding that they reduced COVID-19 mortality by 2.9%… The researchers concluded that limiting gatherings may have actually increased COVID-19 mortality… ‘often, lockdowns have limited peoples’ access to safe (outdoor) places such as beaches, parks, and zoos, or included outdoor mask mandates or strict outdoor gathering restrictions, pushing people to meet at less safe (indoor) places.’…

“Researchers also pointed out other unintended consequences of lockdowns, such as rising unemployment, reduced schooling, an increase in domestic violence incidents, and surging drug overdoses…”

Something which we have stated in our publications for over two years. Now some come to their senses, but the damage has been done.

Most of the Very Sick Are Fully Vaccinated

Israel National News reported on February 3:

“Prof. Jacob Giris, director of Ichilov Hospital’s coronavirus ward, said in a TV interview that many of the severe cases are vaccinated. ‘Right now, most of our severe cases are vaccinated,’ Giris told Channel 13 News. ‘They had at least three injections. Between seventy and eighty percent of the serious cases are vaccinated. So, the vaccine has no significance regarding severe illness, which is why just twenty to twenty-five percent of our patients are unvaccinated.’

“Giris also spoke at the cabinet meeting on Sunday and told ministers, ‘Defining a serious patient is problematic. For example, a patient with a chronic lung disease always had a low level of oxygen, but now he has a positive coronavirus test result which technically makes him a ‘serious coronavirus patient,’ but that’s not accurate. The patient is only in a difficult condition because he has a serious underlying illness.’”

Here goes the left-wing propaganda of the mass media.

Canada’s and America’s “Justice”?

The Blaze wrote on February 6:

“A Canadian judge ruled that an unvaccinated father cannot see his three children because he refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Justice Nathalie Godbout of the Court of Queen’s Bench ruled on Monday that the father from New Brunswick would lose custody of his children… [as] the unvaccinated posed a serious risk to the children…

“The mother and father [separated in 2019 and agreed to share custody]. They were also in disagreement about the children getting vaccinated. The mother wanted to get the children vaccinated when they became eligible in November, the father was against it. Godbout ruled that the mother could get the kids vaccinated without the father’s consent. The children reportedly received their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine following the ruling on Monday…

“In December, another Canadian father lost custody of his 12-year old child after a Quebec judge ruled that it was in the child’s ‘best interest’ to bar the dad from seeing his child since he was unvaccinated. In August, a  Chicago mother temporarily lost custody of her child because she was unvaccinated against COVID-19.”

Canadians Fed Up With COVID Restrictions

The Denver Gazette wrote on February 4:

“A late January poll… found 54% of Canadians want to end [Covid] restrictions… That was up 14 percentage points from just a few weeks earlier… As COVID fatigue turns into angst, weary government leaders must decide whether it’s time to start treating the virus as an endemic disease, like seasonal flu… if Canada is any guide, there will likely be growing public pressure to remove restrictions…

“Trudeau… has shown no sign of reversing his government’s vaccine mandates… Yet the backlash is being felt by political leaders. Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole, Trudeau’s primary rival in the 2021 election, was dumped by his caucus this week… For some, his refusal to embrace the protesters’ cause was another sign of weakness. After deposing him in a vote on Wednesday, a few went out and posed for pictures with the truckers.

“Quebec’s premier backed down on a threat to impose a special tax on unvaccinated residents. The government of Saskatchewan… said it will scrap all restrictions soon, including proof-of-vaccination requirements for public places.”

An Unholy Mess?

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on February 5:

“There is a narrow window — a month or two, maybe — for governments to declare ‘victory over the virus’ and roll back their segregation systems, mask-wearing mandates, ‘vaccine’ mandates, and the rest of the so-called ‘Covid restrictions.’ Many governments are already doing so, England, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, Ireland, etc. They have seen which way the wind is blowing, and they are rushing to dismantle the New Normal in their countries before…. a convoy of angry truckers arrives at their doors.

“If they let that happen, they will find themselves in the unenviable position that Trudeau is now in. The Canadian truckers appear to be serious about staying there until their demands are met, which means Trudeau only has two options: (1) give in to the truckers’ demands, or (2) attempt to remove them by force. There’s already talk about bringing in the military. Imagine what an unholy mess that would be. Odds are, the military would disobey his orders, and, if not, the world would be treated to the spectacle of full-blown New Normal Fascism in action.

“Either way, Trudeau is history, as long as the truckers stand their ground. I pray they do not give an inch, and I hope the leaders of other New Normal countries, like Australia, Germany, Austria, Italy, and France, are paying close attention.”

Leftist Trudeau Under Attack, but Not Listening

Breitbart wrote on February 9:

“Leftist Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faced jeers and insults in Parliament on Tuesday as he once again faced questions regarding his derision towards citizens who oppose civil rights violations tied to the Chinese coronavirus pandemic…

“Trudeau has repeatedly insisted he would not listen to any calls for lifting the mandates and restoring normal life to Canada. He has accused the protesters of racism and misogyny and equated them with Nazis in his statements in Parliament on Monday. The next day, he once again faced calls to meet with opposition leaders and bring an end to the onerous mandate regime currently in place. The interim leader of the Conservative Party, Candice Bergen, asked Trudeau if he would consider ending restrictions once again. ‘This cannot be a slow and dragged out process simply because of the prime minister’s ego, pride, or denial,’ Bergen said. ‘Canadians are too tired. Canadians need hope. So will the prime minister follow the science, follow the evidence, end the restrictions, end the mandates?’

“Trudeau did not answer the question, instead asserting, amid heckling and jeers, ‘we’re going to continue to follow the science, we’re going to continue to have Canadians’ backs, we’re going to continue to protect people’s lives.’ Bergen again asked him to answer the question, but upon his second attempt, the jeering became so loud that he stopped abruptly and sat down to wait for it to end. Amid the shouting, one voice could be heard saying, ‘Let him answer, he’s not good at it!’

“Speaker of the House of Commons Anthony Rota admonished the chamber and confirmed that the shouting was, indeed, jeers. ‘The honorable leader of the opposition asked a question and she’s trying to hear, but she can’t hear it above all the heckling and shouting that’s going on,’ Rota scolded. The speaker did not succeed in silencing the shouting entirely but diminished it enough for Trudeau to finish his response, which was nearly identical to his first statement…

“On Monday, Bergen pressed Trudeau for an apology for his invective against those who choose not to receive a Chinese coronavirus vaccine. ‘Does he regret calling people names who didn’t take the vaccine?’ Bergen asked of Trudeau. ‘Does he regret calling people misogynist and racist… and being so divisive to individual Canadians that he might not… agree with, that he might have thought were wrong?’

“Trudeau responded by associating the protesters with Nazis…”

Sweden and other Countries lift COVID restrictions, but…

LifeSiteNews wrote von February 4:

“The Swedish government announced Thursday that it will be lifting all COVID restrictions by February 9… there will no longer be any limitations on how many people can gather at restaurants, sports stadiums, and other venues… In addition, Swedes will no longer be required to work from home, and travel restrictions between Sweden and other Nordic countries will be relaxed. Vaccine passport requirements, mask mandates on public transports, and social distancing will also be scrapped.

“Throughout 2020 and 2021, Sweden has been the source of heated debate for its management of COVID-19. It was one of very few countries which decided against going into lockdown. The government did not shut down schools or the economy, and did not remotely restrict individual freedoms to the degree seen in the United States and much of Europe…

“In announcing the lifting of its COVID restrictions, Sweden is now aligning itself with Denmark, which ended them on Tuesday, declaring that COVID was ‘no longer a dangerous disease’ for society’. Two other neighboring Nordic countries, Norway and Finland, have also announced the lifting of some of their COVID restrictions recently, as have a number of countries throughout Europe…

“While the relaxing or lifting of COVID restrictions in many places will come as good news for the millions of people throughout the world who have been protesting en masse against restrictions to their freedoms, leaders have suggested that the measures might come back in the future, or not be lifted at all, depending on the evolution of the pandemic and the appearance of potential new variants.

“Moreover, in virtually every country where restrictions are being relaxed or lifted, the decision is not only attributed to the herd immunity generated by the fast-spreading and mild omicron variant, but above all to the alleged efficacy of the COVID-19 ‘vaccines’ and booster shots.

“Despite the current relaxing of measures, leaders everywhere are still encouraging, if not legally obliging, people to get vaccinated with the mRNA gene therapy which has been associated with thousands of deaths and millions of adverse events worldwide. Unvaccinated people are also still being blamed for the fact that the pandemic is still ongoing, despite evidence showing that vaccinated people now account for a majority of cases and hospitalizations in many places.”

Austria Enacts Mandatory Vaccination as of February 5, 2022

Breitbart wrote on February 5:

“Just over two months after the draconian measure was first announced, Austria has made getting vaccinated against the Chinese coronavirus mandatory for all those over the age of 18 in the country. The new forced jab rules come into force from Saturday, but penalties for those who do not abide by the mandate will not come into effect until mid-March.

“According to a report by Kronen Zeitung, Austria’s Federal President, Alexander Van der Bellen, as well as Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer, successfully signed the bill into law on Friday morning…

“Herbert Kickl, who serves as leader of the Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs — or Freedom Party of Austria — denounced the law, which he claimed would put Austria ‘on a par with authoritarian states’… Meanwhile, a post made by the party on social media declared that it will aim to support the nation’s unvaccinated against any mandate penalties… ‘We will exhaust all legal options and inform citizens how they can defend themselves against impending penalties.’

Some of Austria’s Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs—or Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ)—are also opposing mandatory vaccinations.

If the opposition grows, like in Canada, the current Austrian government might not be in power much longer.

Goldberg’s Jewish Race Comments

Jewish Telegraph Agency (JTA) wrote on February 2:

“Whoopi Goldberg waded into a charged discourse that has polarized the Jewish community — and those who seek to discriminate against them — for centuries… The genocide was not ‘about race,’ she said, it was instead about ‘man’s inhumanity to man.’ And it involved ‘two white groups of people.’

“The comments immediately went viral and struck a nerve, leading to what Goldberg described as a deluge of accusations of antisemitism and Holocaust denial… the storm reached a climax on Tuesday night when ABC decided to suspend Goldberg from ‘The View’ for two weeks ‘to take time to reflect and learn about the impact of her comments’… Goldberg… attempted to clarify the situation… In her experience as a Black person, she said, race is something ‘I can see.’…

“Jews have long debated whether they are a ‘race’ or something else. Judaism is a religion, practiced by people of all varieties and races across the globe. But Jews do not have to be practitioners to regard themselves or be accepted by other Jews as Jews… Judaism also accepts converts.

“Taken all together, these various understandings have led Jews to regard themselves (and others to regard Jews) variously as a people, a nation, a tribe, a family and a faith…

“But Hitler, like many antisemites before him, specifically — and repeatedly, in writings and laws and speeches — labeled Jews as physically impure Slavic-descended race, in contrast to what he termed the blonde, blue-eyed genetically pure German Aryan race. Nazi propaganda promoted pseudoscientific ways to supposedly identify Jews — by the size of their nose and lips, or the shape of their heads, among other things.

“Hitler… wrote that the ‘Final Solution’ was inspired in part by his drive to create a more ‘pure’ and singular human race, rid of ‘Jewish’ and other impurities… the Jews were persecuted as a ‘race’ by their neighbors in Europe and elsewhere for centuries before Hitler outlined many of his ideas in ‘Mein Kampf’ in a jail cell in 1925…

“The majority of Jews in North America may be Ashkenazi Jews with roots in Eastern Europe, but Jews also descend from ancient communities in Ethiopia, India, China and beyond. Sephardic Jews come from communities in Northern Africa and what is now Spain and Portugal, while Mizrahi Jews come from the Middle East, including once vital communities in Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Syria and other countries….

“Thousands of Jews come from mixed-race and interfaith backgrounds, so even many Jews with Ashkenazi roots are not white…”

Arguments like these are often made to claim that Jesus, as a Jew, was not white. This is false. The genealogy of Jesus, through Mary, is clearly documented, and his ancestors were white. As the article above points out, many times the term “Jew” is referring to religion, rather than race.

Pope Francis’ Communion with the Dead

The National Catholic Register wrote on February 4:

“Pope Francis’ Wednesday audience drew a reaction from some who wondered whether he had intentionally included the damned in the communion of saints… The communion of saints includes the dead, said the Pope. ‘They too are in communion with us,’ he said…

“Pope Francis then raised an objection from a hypothetical speaker: ‘Let’s think about those who have denied the faith, who are apostates, who are the persecutors of the Church, who have denied their baptism…’

“The Pope responded: ‘Yes, these too. All of them. The blasphemers, all of them. We are brothers. This is the communion of saints. The communion of saints holds together the community of believers on earth and in heaven, and on earth: the saints, the sinners, all… In this sense, the relationship of friendship that I can build with a brother or sister beside me, I can also establish with a brother or sister in heaven,’ he said…”

Does communion with the dead also mean, communication with the dead?

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

Current Events

by Norbert Link

We begin with truly disgusting and abominable experiments conducted under Dr. Fauci’s direction. We are warning our readers: The articles published contain graphic language, but in the interest of truth and justice, we decided to quote some of the statements anyhow.

We continue with China’s record of horror while the dictatorial and mean-spirited murderous government celebrates the Olympic games; speak on further conflicts between Russia and Germany; Germany’s hypocritical conduct towards Lithuania and Ukraine; the help Biden gave to Putin; and Israel’s willingness to strike Iran even in case of a new or resurrected Iran deal.

We speak on the battle between Trump and Pence; the censuring of Cheney and Kinzinger by the Republican Party; and the insane electricity rates in San Diego.

We address a new striking report on the uselessness and dangers of lockdowns, which is being systematically ignored by the left-wing mass media; repulsive court decisions in Canada and America pertaining to the unvaccinated; developments regarding Canada’s “Freedom Convoy”; and numerous European countries lifting all or most corona restrictions, while authoritarian Austria enacts a vaccine mandate.

We speak on the reaction to Whoopi Goldberg’s comments regarding the holocaust and the Jewish “race,” and conclude with Pope Francis’s communion with the dead.

Please view our new StandingWatch program, titled, “Why Canada’s Justin Trudeau Is so Dangerous.”

Throughout this section, we have underlined pertinent statements in the quoted articles, for the convenience and quick overview of the reader.

The Danger of Self-Righteous Judgment

by Thilo Hanstein (Germany)

The large-scale madness and stigmatization by governments all over the world is increasing more and more. Oftentimes it seems like a nightmare, but in fact, it is pure reality.

What happened between 1938 and 1945 is a scenario of ruthlessness without equality. When I contemplate what Hitler’s regime has done to the Jews and to fellow human beings who thought differently, it truly moves me to tears.

One would think that all this should have been buried and forgotten a long time ago, and that people would have become more reasonable. But the opposite is true.

Although every year in Germany, several memorial ceremonies about these darkest scenarios are held by those in power, who adorn themselves with justice and love and words like “We must never forget” and “This must never happen again”, the reality is quite different.

In October 2021, I saw coverage in the news about a very tragic court case in which a 96-year-old former typist from the concentration camp Stutthof had been charged by the public prosecutor’s office with aiding and abetting murder in more than 11,000 cases. The woman is said to have been a typist for the commandant Paul-Werner Hoppe between the years 1943 and 1945.

Der Tagesspiegel published the following article about this on September 30, 2021:

“96-year-old accused flees NS trial – and got caught. Irmgard F. was the commander’s typist in the Stutthof concentration camp. She did not appear at her trial. But she was caught and is now in custody.

“The bureaucrats of horror were efficient. The number of prisoners and killed persons in the Stutthof concentration camp was regularly reported to Berlin. Camp commander Paul Werner Hoppe dictated letters to the administrative headquarters of the Holocaust, the SS-Wirtschafts-Verwaltungshauptamt in Berlin-Lichterfelde. At the typewriter was Irmgard F. She typed the camp commander’s orders to the guard personnel and wrote the lists with the names of the prisoners who were deported to the Auschwitz death camp.

“Every correspondence with the SS administrative headquarters in Berlin passed over her desk, she said as a witness in a Nazi trial after the end of the war. Now the now 96-year-old must answer for herself before the Superior Court in Itzehoe.”

The Berliner Morgenpost reported the following on October 19, 2021:

“Irmgard F., who worked as a stenotypist at the Stutthof concentration camp between 1943 and 1945, is accused of complicity to murder in more than 11,000 cases. She [wears] a device on her wrist to monitor her location, like an electronic ankle monitor. ‘The defendant had knowledge of all events and happenings in the camp’, the prosecutor said. This resulted from the fact, that Irmgard F. was the right-hand woman of the camp commander Paul-Werner Hoppe and had written down all his orders, and instructions and all the commander’s correspondence had passed over her desk.

“Therefore, Irmgard F. had profound knowledge of the systematic killing of the prisoners in the camp ‘right down to the last detail’, the prosecutor said. In the indictment, she lists in detail the killing methods, that were the routine in the concentration camp. The neck-shooting facility, disguised as a medical examination room, in which 300 prisoners died during the defendant’s time of service. They had to stand against the wall in the belief that their height would be measured, but instead they were murdered by neck shot through an opening to the neighboring room.”

One must realize the fact, that this is an indictment taking place 76 years after the end of the war, and that the involved accusers are nowhere near contemporary witnesses at the time of this woman’s executive work and had not even been born and were in the world.

Moreover, this 96-year-old woman is charged with “complicity to murder in more than 11,000 cases.” While it is known that “300 prisoners died in the neck-shooting facility during the defendant’s time of service”, the origin of the exact number of 11,000 deaths seems quite questionable. Besides, this woman did what she may have been forced to do, and she was only a scribe anyway. It was not she, who murdered the people, and whether she approved it, no one can say.

This scenario of an accusation against a woman reminded me of an example when Christ was teaching in the temple and the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees brought a woman before Him, caught in the act of adultery, hoping of course that Christ would inflict a severe punishment. They said to Him, “‘…Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?’ This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.  So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, ‘He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.’ And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst” (John 8:4-9).

This example of self-righteousness is a bottomless pit because the world with its ruthless justice system, as it was then and still is today, is so immoderately arrogant and unjust that one cannot even put this whole event into words.

The same applies to today’s new “law guidelines” and “jurisdictions” regarding these absurd Corona measures. They are picking up so much speed that this reminds us exactly of the time back then at the beginning of 1938. Indeed, beginning on November 12, 1938, Jews were forbidden at that time to visit cinemas, theaters, operas, and concerts. Today, 84 years later, the same thing is happening again to people only because they think differently and refuse to get vaccinated. And the wheel of the invention of new restrictions does not stop; instead, life is made more and more unbearable for these people. They are judged, harassed, bullied, and incited. Even children are dragged into this torment and put into a trauma that they may very well not be able to get rid of for the rest of their lives. We are witnessing a jurisdiction of the irresponsible.

Most of these above-mentioned accusers are acting today in the same way that happened back then in 1938, possibly without even realizing what they are really doing, since this is Satan’s world. And no one knows how long this stigmatization will continue, for this may be just the beginning or even just a precursor of what is to come to the world, namely the great tribulation.

How long will WE in God’s Church have to endure suffering? Will WE be greatly reviled as true Christians for the sake of Christ’s name? And how will WE bear it then? What if WE are innocently accused and even sent to prison?

Christ warns against the unrighteousness of man. He tells us in Luke 21:12-15,17-19:

“‘But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake. But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony. Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist… And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But not a hair of your head shall be lost. By your patience possess your souls. “

Christ gives us such great hope for what lies ahead. It is neither the government nor the jurisdiction of men that can give us or take away true life. They can persecute us, treat us unjustly, accuse and condemn us; they can throw us into prison; and they can take away our physical life. But what they cannot do is to deny us eternal life. They cannot separate us from the love of Christ if we hold on to the hope which the Word of God gives us, and if we do not give up our faith and instead put our trust in GOD the Father and Jesus Christ, then this world can do NOTHING to us that would have eternal consequences.

Paul asked the church: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (Romans 8:35).

And later, in verses 37-39, Paul says with deep conviction, “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Christ also gives us great hope by telling us: “‘Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body [physical life] but cannot kill the soul [the potential of eternal life]… But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell [eternal destruction in the Gehenna fire’” (Matthew 10:26-28).

When Christ tells us that nothing is covered, but that one day all the truth will come to light, we must understand that one day a great truthful trial will be held for mankind, with complete and righteous measure, to condemn and judge man’s unrighteousness.

God the Father will, through Jesus Christ, conduct this judgment and hold men accountable and punish them for their evil and unrighteous deeds.

Let us think once more about the example of the adulteress and what Christ ultimately said to her. “When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, ‘Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more’” (John 8:10-11).

Christ acted here as a Man of love and divine understanding. He did not justify the sinful behavior of the adulteress, but He showed mercy. From this point of view, we should not try to whitewash these terrible acts of the world today, nor should we condemn them with an unmerciful measure. We should and must leave that to God. For God tells us, “Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. Therefore ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:17-21).

We must not allow ourselves to be influenced by the deeds of the world, which Satan still has possession of at present, but must allow ourselves to be edified by every word of God and make the best of everything, according to our ability. It’s on us to wait hopefully for the coming of Jesus Christ so that He can welcome us at His coming, and we must hold fast to the confidence that God will judge righteously at His time.

Initial translation from the German: Daniel Blasinger

Comments on News and Prophecy, February 12, 2022 / Does the Teaching of the Trinity Deny Jesus Christ?

On February 12, 2022, Norbert Link will present “Comments on News and Prophecy, February 12, 2022,” and the sermon, titled, “Does the Teaching of the Trinity Deny Jesus Christ?”

The live services are available, over video and audio, at http://eternalgod.org/live-services/ (12:30 pm Pacific Time; 1:30 pm Mountain Time; 2:30 pm Central Time; 3:30 pm Eastern Time; 8:30 pm Greenwich Mean Time; 9:30 pm Central European Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.

How important are relationships with God and with each other? – Part 3

In the second part of this series, we started to look at an outline of biblical information to show just how important inter-personal relationships are with other human beings.

In this third part, we will review some Scriptures that show how we are to deal with others in our relationship with them.

How we are to deal with others in our relationship with them.

One of the most obvious places to start is in Exodus 20 where God gave Israel the Ten Commandments. The first four commandments are instructions about how humans should relate to God and the other six are about how people should treat and relate to each other. If these were taken seriously, all relationships would be unrecognisable to what we experience today where selfishness and self-serving predominate.

The Ten Commandments give a summary of how to love God and how to love our neighbour.  God gave additional statutes and judgments showing the practical application of the Ten Commandments.

For example, Exodus 22:21-22 tells us: “You shall neither mistreat a stranger [sojourner or foreigner] nor oppress him… You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child.”

Rather than oppressing others, we ought to help them when we have opportunity. Deuteronomy 22:1-4 states:

“You shall not see your brother’s ox or his sheep going astray, and hide yourself from them; you shall certainly bring them back to your brother. And if your brother is not near you, or if you do not know him, then you shall bring it to your own house, and it shall remain with you until your brother seeks it; then you shall restore it to him. You shall do the same with his donkey, and so shall you do with his garment; with any lost thing of your brother’s, which he has lost and you have found, you shall do likewise; you must not hide yourself. You shall not see your brother’s donkey or his ox fall down along the road, and hide yourself from them; you shall surely help him lift them up again.”

We are to do a good turn for others wherever possible.

In addressing our relationship with other Church members, Jesus said: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).

There should be no semicolon in the phrase, “… love one another; as I have loved you.”  Rather, Christ is telling us that we ought to love our brethren in the same way as He has loved us.

Paul, when writing to the Galatians, outlined important principles of sowing and reaping and of not growing weary in well doing, and he finished by saying: “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10).

Paul further wrote how he did everything he could to accommodate others to show them the way to salvation, without compromising God’s law, when he wrote: “…and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law;   to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some” (1 Corinthians 9:20-22).

First, he was determined in destroying the Church and having the members arrested and killed, but after his conversion, he was reaching out to others and was trying to do all he could to help others to be led to God’s Truth and to reach man’s ultimate potential—entrance into the Kingdom of God. His communication was out of love towards his fellow human beings. He knew of course that he could not convert or proselytize someone, but he wanted to make sure that he did not become a hindrance for those whom God would call to salvation.

John, the apostle whom Christ loved and who had a special relationship with Christ, addresses another important point in this context, writing:

“If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” (1 John 4:20).  This was central to the teaching that Jesus gave to all who listened to Him and wanted to follow Him. Unfortunately, down through the ages, lip service has so often been present but the substance ignored.

Notice the communication which Jesus had with one of the scribes:

“Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, ‘Which is the first commandment of all?’ Jesus answered him, ‘The first of all the commandments is: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” This is the first commandment.  And the second, like it, is this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.’ [Christ summarized here the Ten Commandments.] So the scribe said to Him, ‘Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.’ Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’  But after that no one dared question Him” (Mark 12:28-34).

Christ was also saying, in effect, that those who do not love God or their fellow man are far from the Kingdom of God. In fact, they were still walking in darkness even though they might have thought that they were walking in the light. This is especially true for Church members who hate their brethren (1 John 2:9-11).

Jesus said that He would judge the nations and gave this warning for those who did understand the Truth, but refused to live by it: “… for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me” (Matthew 25:35-36). He then went on to explain in verses 37-40: “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?  When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?  Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’  And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’”  That’s quite a warning for those who are followers of Jesus Christ who gives us the blueprint for how we are to treat and deal with other brethren. It is quite a lesson in interpersonal relationship behaviour.

We have to be careful that we don’t upset or offend others unnecessarily.   We will probably know some people who can be touchy or sensitive; perhaps we ourselves can be like this at times, but the apostle Paul addresses this type of relationship in 1 Corinthians 8:9-13 where we read the following:

“But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols?  And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?   But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.  Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.”

This is a classic case of doing without by abstaining or forgoing what we might normally do for the sake of others who are weak in the faith and might be encouraged by our conduct (which is objectively faultless) to follow our example, but they would be doing so with a compromised conscience. Inasmuch as whatever is not from faith is sin (Romans 14:23), we must be careful by not encouraging others to sin against their conscience.  We should endeavour at all times, wherever possible, to have good relationships with others although at times, for many reasons, that may not be possible.  If it is not possible, let us ensure that we are not the responsible party in such a case.

Selflessness should be part of the way we react and behave in life as the apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:33: “…just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.” Again, Paul’s desire was that others would be saved, and he did not want to endanger that possibility by the way he conducted himself.

Jesus was hassled and harassed by the religious establishment of His time as they tried to trick Him into giving answers that would incriminate Himself.  “But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?’  Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets”’” (Matthew 22:34-40).  After the Sadducees failed, the Pharisees tried yet again to trap Jesus. However, Jesus was not taken by surprise or without an answer and gave a perfect summary of the foundation of all the law and the prophets for all of those who choose to follow Him.

James, the half-brother of Jesus, later explained: “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you do well” (James 2:8).

Jesus gave instruction about those who are against us: “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.  For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?  Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:44-48).

On the same theme, further direction and guidance was given as we read in Luke 6:35 about this matter which cuts right across the grain of our human nature:  “But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.”  Very often, when enemies see others reacting in this most unusual way, that of trying to do good to them or trying to be helpful, they can have a change of mind about them.

Paul, in quoting from Proverbs 25:21-22, tells us in Romans 12:17-21:

“Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. Therefore ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

One practical example can be found in Exodus 23:4-5: “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you would refrain from helping it, you shall surely help him with it.”

If we are to treat our enemy that way, how much more are we to show love for our brethren, leading to unity. Psalm 133:1 is a key verse and very self-explanatory: “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity!”

The first part of Proverbs 18:24 states that “A man who has friends must himself be friendly,” showing that we shouldn’t be inward looking and “locking out” other people. However, many feel that this is not the best translation. The Ryrie Study Bible comments: “Probably better, ‘A man of (too many) friends will be broken in pieces.’ Indiscriminately chosen friends may bring trouble, but a genuine friend sticks with you through thick and thin.” It still remains true that we must act towards genuine friends in a friendly manner.

When relationship problems occur in a marriage, friendship, business and in so many other areas of life, the outcomes can be threatening, even disastrous.   Even in the Church we can have difficulties between members which can be distressing to the parties involved and may be resolved if the appropriate action is taken.

One passage of Scripture is often overlooked when there is sin involved, causing problems with inter-personal relationships within the Church. The modern phrase is conflict resolution and how we go about it.   We have covered this many times in sermons and in other literature but a brief reminder may be helpful. In Matthew 18:15-17 we read: “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’  And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.”

For a thorough discussion of conflict resolution between brethren  in Matthew 18:15-20, please see our Q&A, https://www.eternalgod.org/q-a-2853/  See also our Q&A on the power and authority of excommunication in Matthew 18:17.  https://www.eternalgod.org/question-and-answer-279/

On the other hand, our personal relationship with others may need to involve division and separation because of the Word of God. We explain this aspect in detail in our Q&A which addresses what it means to deny Christ, https://www.eternalgod.org/what-does-it-mean-to-deny-christ/, saying:

“Why would someone deny Christ? A major reason is because of persecution as a Christian, but JESUS warned that this would come:

“‘Remember the word that I said to you, “A servant is not greater than his master.” If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me’” (John 15:20-21).

“When a person is called into the Truth, standing firm and not denying Christ will oftentimes be a great test. Again, this is something JESUS said would come—it is part of ‘counting the cost’ (Luke 14:28):

“‘Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to “set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law”; and “a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.” He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it’” (Matthew 10:34-39)…

“Finally, consider this ominous warning from JESUS:

“‘For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels’” (Mark 8:38).”

If we love others more than God and if we are compromising with God’s Truth, just to maintain a close or friendly personal relationship with others,  we deny Christ, and He will be ashamed of us when He returns.

In summary, our personal relationships with others must be pleasing in the sight of God.

(To be continued)

Lead Writers: Brian Gale (United Kingdom) and Norbert Link

©2024 Church of the Eternal God