On July 27, 2024, Norbert Link will present the sermonette, titled, “The Cruel God of the Old Testament?” and Rene Messier will present the sermon, titled, “Seek.”
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.
There are currently many people around me suffering from sickness, be it in the family, among relatives, friends, brethren or acquaintances, as well as among colleagues at work.
Sadly, illnesses have existed for a very long time and are also part of the consequence of sin, which began with Eve choosing to eat the forbidden fruit. Satan’s direct involvement can of course also be responsible for illnesses. We read Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 12:7: “And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.” Paul suffered from some kind of illness that is not described here in detail.
Job also had to suffer much, albeit because of his arrogance, through a direct attack by Satan. We can see from Job 1:6-12 that whatever Satan attacks always turns into evil. Verse 12 confirms that its outcome is in Satan’s hands: “The LORD said to Satan, ‘Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands…’” (New International Version). But Satan can only work to a certain extent, and we read this in the same verse as follows: “… only do not lay a hand on his person.”
Leprosy is a very serious disease. It is said that leprosy is one of the oldest known diseases and has been described for around 4,000 years. Because of the distinctive skin lesions, the disease became known as leprosy. We read about it for the first time in Leviticus 13:1-3. Whether this disease has been brought under medical control is highly questionable.
Many of our brethren also suffer from a wide variety of diseases, such as cancer, which comes in many different forms. Others have been suffering for years from diabetes or severe back pain, knee and hip problems, allergies and so much more. My wife suffers from many different illnesses. I personally suffered from a pulmonary embolism caused by thrombosis. Initially, I had to take a blood thinner from the pharmaceutical industry, which unfortunately had countless side effects. But through the advice of endearing brethren, I was able to use natural remedies made from plants created by God, which, with God’s help, meant that firstly, I no longer needed thrombosis stockings and secondly, the blood clot was able to dissolve.
God has created all kinds of plants and herbs to heal many diseases. The Bible gives us a glimpse that there were physicians in both the Old and New Testaments (compare Genesis 50:2 and Colossians 4:14). Although the Bible does not mention much about healing with herbs or other natural substances, there are some accounts, and we may assume that competent physicians made use of natural remedies or ointments and oils.
Isaiah 1:6 records that ointments were used for relief. Luke 10:34 shows that oil and wine were used to disinfect and treat wounds. Treatment with natural eye salve and balm was also known (compare Jeremiah 8:22 and Revelation 3:18). We also read about a poultice made of figs for boils to induce healing (compare Isaiah 38:21). In the future, leaves from all kinds of fruitful trees will also be used as healing medicines (compare Ezekiel 47:12).
It is even claimed that pomegranates can cure many different cancers, but they are also said to be very helpful for healing wounds. And there are over thousands of different plants and herbs that can help.
God has brethren ordained as ministers, including for the purpose of anointing the sick with oil for healing. Now, of course, the oil has no healing effect in this respect; it is symbolic of the Holy Spirit of power, through which God brings about healing. Although complete healing does not always occur immediately, we know that it is up to God’s Will how and whether He will heal someone later, today, or in the near future.
You might ask yourself: “Why do I have to suffer so much, even though I pray so often for healing, have faith in healing, or even fast for it?” Paul received his answer from Christ after he had prayed to Him three times for healing: “And [Christ] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness’” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
God could, of course, deliver us from all our sickness and pain in the blink of an eye, but if this doesn’t happen, then God has chosen to wait a little longer, and whatever His motives are, we will find out in due time. As long as we are not healed of our sicknesses, patience and perseverance are another test for us.
We must not let up, give up, or doubt that God will help. James 5:13-15 tells us: “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”
But James 1:6-8 also admonishes us: “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
Everything comes from God. Only, we need to have faith and trust in Him.
(Initial translation: Daniel Blasinger)
by Norbert Link
We begin with the bombshell news which broke Sunday, revealing that Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race AND that he endorsed Kamala Harris, even though he had insisted as late as of Friday that he would NOT step down and that he would continue his race next week, and his wife had insisted that in any event, Kamala would not be endorsed. It is interesting that Obama and Pelosi, who are seen as the puppet masters behind the plot to end Biden’s career, did not endorse Kamala, who is indeed considered by many as an extremely poor choice, and that this would virtually guarantee Donald Trump’s victory in November. Time will tell.
We expressed concern that the German government’s rejection of Trump might turn out to be very bad for Germany. We also report on numerous scandals in Germany pertaining to the Corona pandemic.
We continue with the worldwide Internet chaos which was allegedly caused by a faulty software Update. Many feel that these catastrophes are bound to continue.
We speak on telephonic meetings between Trump and Zelensky as well as Trump’s meeting with Orban, discussing a peace plan to end the Russian-Ukrainian war, while reelected EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen attacked Orban and the right in Europe, and an advisory board of the Department of Homeland Security characterized Trump supporters, religious and military people as potential terrorists.
We address an appalling decision by the European Parliament pertaining to the assassination attempt on Trump,
We report on Russia’s ongoing persecution of journalists; statements by Iran’s new “moderate” president in support of Hamas; escalations between the Houthis of Yemen and Israel; and a legally non-binding decision by the UN’s International Court of Justice against Israel, finding Israel’s presence in the Palestinian occupied territories to be “unlawful.”
Throughout this section, we have underlined pertinent statements in the quoted articles, for the convenience and quick overview of the reader.
Newsmax wrote on July 21:
“President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race for the White House on Sunday… The decision comes after escalating pressure from Biden’s Democratic allies to step aside… Biden’s decision came as he has been isolating at his Delaware beach house after being diagnosed with COVID-19 last week, huddling with a shrinking circle of close confidants and family members about his political future…
“A party’s presumptive presidential nominee has never stepped out of the race so close to the election… Now, Democrats have to urgently try to bring coherence to the nominating process in a matter of weeks and persuade voters in a stunningly short amount of time that their nominee can handle the job and beat Trump…
“The Democratic National Convention is scheduled to be held Aug. 19-22 in Chicago, but the party had announced that it would hold a virtual roll call to formally nominate [Biden’s successor] before in-person proceedings begin.”
Breitbart wrote on July 21:
“Obama and Pelosi stand out among Democrat leaders for not specifically endorsing Harris. [The New York Post commented: “Obama said Democrats would pick an unnamed ‘outstanding nominee’. Obama, America’s first black president, remains one of the most respected leaders among Democrats and his lack of an endorsement of Harris could damage her candidacy and implicitly encourage new candidates to emerge.”]. It will be interesting to see whether current elected Democrat politicians (who still must face public opinion) call for the party to get behind Harris or call for an open and competitive process that, at least in theory, will look less rigged. [The New York Post: “Some Democrats fear that Harris, the 59-year-old vice president, could further diminish the party’s chances against former President Donald Trump.”]
“In Obama’s statement praising Biden and not endorsing Harris, he writes: ‘I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges’… Harris was one of the first candidates to drop out of the 2020 Democratic primary campaign…
“Politico reports that Biden’s White House and campaign aides learned the news that Biden is dropping the same way the rest of the world did — by Biden’s statement on X… Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issues a statement thanking Biden for his service but not offering any endorsement of Harris. Last week, Pelosi told colleagues that she supports an ‘open’ and ‘competitive’ nomination process if Biden drops out…
“The DNC Chair Jaime Harrison issued a statement that seems to acknowledge that the Democratic Party does not yet have a plan in place for deciding who the nominee will be… Both Bill and Hillary Clinton issued a statement endorsing Harris…
“Republican Nominee former President Donald Trump predicted last December that neither Biden nor Harris would be the Democratic nominee…
“House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is also calling on Biden to step down from his presidency. In a statement on X, Johnson writes: ‘If Joe Biden is not fit to run for President, he is not fit to serve as President. He must resign the office immediately. November 5 cannot arrive soon enough.’ Even before today’s announcement by Biden, some were calling for him to step down from the presidency if he stepped aside from the nomination. Republican Vice-Presidential Nominee Ohio Sen. JD Vance posted on X this morning before Biden’s announcement, ‘If Joe Biden ends his reelection campaign, how can he justify remaining President?’…”
The Sun added on July 21:
“Florida Governor Ron DeSantis… slammed VP Harris for standing by Joe before his announcement. ‘Kamala Harris was complicit in a massive coverup to hide and deny the fact that Joe Biden was not capable of discharging the duties of the office… She also was the border czar during the worst border crisis in American history. Democrats are just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.’…
“The world has begun to react to Biden removing himself from the race with English journalist Piers Morgan [posting] a picture of Biden asking, ‘If Biden’s unfit to stay in the presidential race, then surely he’s unfit to remain President too?’ In another tweet, he commented on the stunning series of developments that the United States has seen in just a month. ‘The debate.. the shooting… now the dropout … what an incredible 24 days in American political history…’
“Morgan… wrote, ‘You [Nancy Pelosi] literally just led the plot to end his career’… Biden reportedly considered Pelosi the main instigator behind the push to drop out, sources close to the president have said… He also reportedly said former president Barack Obama was the puppet master behind the operation…”
The Daily Mail wrote on July 25:
“President Joe Biden mumbled his way through an 11-minute farewell address to the nation and claimed he could have served another four years if he wanted to. Biden, 81, spoke quietly, at times haltingly, and his voice was scratchy as he explained his stunning decision not to seek reelection… The President said he had chosen to ‘pass the torch’ to Vice President Kamala Harris because it was time for ‘younger voices’ and he believed that would ‘unite’ the country and ‘save’ democracy…”
The New York Post wrote on July 24:
“Joe Biden said his farewell to the nation Wednesday night, and it was the same old malarkey… There wasn’t a word about his age, his recent public stumbles [his health and mental acuity] or the pressure from his party. There was no apology and no self-reflection… Instead, Biden sermonized on the importance of character and telling the truth, as if he and his White House hadn’t spent years misleading the public about the president’s capacity to do the job…
“Biden talked about what he still wants to do, but not how this old man, slurring his cliches for 13 minutes off a TelePrompter, is supposed to do it… If you watched looking for a warm endorsement of Kamala Harris, you didn’t get much. Biden gave her a generic shout-out that said nothing about what she actually contributed to his administration. But then, what is there to say?…
“Biden rehashed the supposed highlights of his presidency, and insulted the intelligence of his listeners with claims to have defeated crime and secured the border.”
In a related article, the New York Post wrote on July 24:
“White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre insisted Wednesday that President Biden remains sharp as a tack and ‘absolutely’ could serve another four-year term — stunning journalists at her first briefing since Biden dropped his re-election campaign over concerns about his mental acuity. ‘Look, he didn’t step down from campaigning or from running because he didn’t believe he can serve in a second term. That is not why,’ Jean-Pierre claimed, to the incredulity of the press corps.
“The press secretary said the 81-year-old president’s decision to drop out Sunday and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris, 59, was in the ‘best interest’ of the country and the Democratic Party and that viewers should ‘stay tuned’ for a fuller explanation from Biden in an 8 p.m. Oval Office address on Wednesday. ‘It has nothing to do with his health,’ Jean-Pierre claimed…Asked about allegations that Biden’s inner circle had covered up his cognitive condition, she asserted, ‘it is not a cover-up’…”
Except, Biden did give NO further “explanation” in his speech as to why he resigned.
The Daily Mail wrote on July 21:
“Earlier on Sunday a slew of Biden’s allies went on the airwaves to insist the President was not stepping down and would continue his reelection efforts [So who or what convinced him to change his mind so abruptly? This is very strange indeed, as is his tweet half an hour after his initial announcement that he would drop out, to endorse Kamala Harris—even though his wife Jill had allegedly insisted earlier that she would be fully opposed to endorsing Kamala. Some felt First Lady Jill Biden was the only one pushing for her 81-year-old husband to remain on the ballot. If so, who and what changed HER mind?]
“Critics… have attacked [Harris] for poor public speaking skills… And some polls have shown her less popular even than ailing, ageing, [P]resident Biden, in the vital swing states likely to settle the election. Her opponents argue letting her run would amount to admitting defeat. As a result… challengers to a Harris nomination are bound to come forward… just because Biden backed his No. 2 to take his spot doesn’t mean she automatically will receive the nomination.”
To recall, the New York Post wrote on July 19 about the mounting pressure on Biden to stand down:
“President Biden is digging in his heels and vowing to get ‘back on the campaign trail next week’ despite mounting calls from Democrats to stand down — even reportedly lashing out at his party’s leaders and accusing them of helping Donald Trump get elected in 2016 when they cast him aside to boost Hillary Clinton. Former President Barack Obama, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and New York Sen. Chuck Schumer are just three of the powerful Dems who have apparently counseled Biden, 81, to throw in the towel. ‘Can we all just remember for a minute that these same people who are trying to push Joe Biden out are the same people who literally gave us all Donald Trump?’ a source close to Biden scoffed to NBC News. ‘In 2015, Obama, Pelosi, Schumer pushed Biden aside in favor of Hillary; they were wrong then, and they are wrong now,’ they added…
“The Biden camp clapback comes on the heels of mounting speculation that the president’s own party might be turning on him due to concerns about his mental and physical fitness. Even the president’s family has reportedly discussed what an exit from the campaign trail might look like… Speculation about private family talks, however, was shut down by White House spokesman Andrew Bates…
“Biden stepped back from campaigning this week when he tested positive for COVID-19…”
So, something is clearly rotten in the… USA.
The New York Post wrote on July 22:
“After Democratic bigs knifed Joe Biden in the back, wresting the candidacy from his stubborn, locked grip, they rushed to valorize him with effusive praise and glowing political obituaries. They’ve called him a ‘patriot’ and a ‘hero’... the trinity of Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer…. especially with the backing of the big-money donor class and Hollywood hotshots… in a calculated campaign to remove the president, threatened him with the 25th Amendment in a ‘palace coup’… Behind closed doors, they were likely calling him four-letter words not suitable for a family newspaper…
“The only person who gave it to us straight was the Democratic Senator from Pennsylvania, John Fetterman. ‘Spare me the soaring accolades from people with their fingerprints on the blades in our president’s back,’ [he said]…
“Biden was clearly bullied into submission by party leaders… And our 46th president is no hero…”
Republicans are now demanding that Biden resigns as President, as they demanded before that he discontinues his run for the race. But if he resigns as President, Kamala Harris would take his place. How does this make any sense?
Breitbart wrote on July 22:
“By Monday night, Harris had the support of at least 2,471 delegates, according to the AP tally of delegates, more than the 1,976 delegates she’ll need to win on a first ballot. No other candidate was named by a delegate contacted by the AP…
“Chairman Rusty Hicks said 75 to 80 percent of the state’s delegation was on a call Monday and expressed unanimous support for Harris. ‘I’ve not heard anyone mentioning or calling for any other candidate,’ Hicks said… The AP stopped short of calling Harris the presumptive nominee due to the fact that ‘the convention delegates are still free to vote for the candidate of their choice at the convention in August or if Democrats go through with a virtual roll call ahead of that gathering in Chicago.’
“… the Harris campaign raised ‘$81 million in donations within 24 hours, setting a fundraising record’… more than 888,000 ‘grassroots donors’ had contributed, according to Axios. Out of this number, 60 percent were reported to have been first-time donors during the 2024 presidential election. Another 43,000 people had vowed to make recurring donations to Harris’s campaign.”
The Wall Street Journal wrote on July 24 that it took Harris only two days to complete her “takeover” of the Democratic Party.
The New York Post wrote on July 22:
“… at her core, Kamala Harris is a far-left, authoritarian demagogue… Harris’ agenda better resembles Bernie Sanders’, not [Biden’s]…
“In the Senate, Harris championed the farcical $10 trillion Green New Deal… Then, on the campaign trail, she boasted ‘there’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking’… In 2019, she… went so far as to say that she would abolish private health insurance entirely… Harris doesn’t even balk at tax rates of up to 80%, even calling the idea ‘fantastic’… She hopped on to the destructive ‘Defund the police’ bandwagon and applauded Los Angeles for cutting its police department’s budget by $150 million… she promised to wield the Department of Justice against pro-lifers… she urged her followers to donate to bail funds for the sick rioters who unleashed hell on America’s cities during the summer of 2020… During her previous campaign, Harris promised, with a wave of her make-believe scepter, to implement a sweeping amnesty program for illegal immigrants…”
The New York Post wrote on July 24:
“Following President Biden’s shocking exit from the race on Sunday, and his immediate endorsement of the vice president, most of the Democratic elite have been quick to rally behind Harris — but Obama is a notable exception. ‘Obama’s very upset because he knows she can’t win,’ the Biden family source told The Post. ‘Obama knows she’s just incompetent — the border czar who never visited the border, saying that all migrants should have health insurance. She cannot navigate the landmines that are ahead of her… She can’t debate. She’s going to put her foot in her mouth about Israel, Palestine, Ukraine. She’s going to say something really stupid,’ the source said.
“‘Obama knew this was going to happen, Joe knew this was going to happen. Now she is going to have to answer real questions.’ The White House did not respond to The Post’s request for comment on this story.
“According to the source, Obama’s hope was to get Biden out of the way, and an op-ed written by Geroge Clooney in the New York Times asking him to step aside was a part of that plan. However, the higher-ups in the Democratic Party didn’t count on Biden endorsing Harris right away and ‘Obama was shocked’ when the president endorsed her, according to the insider. Obama is ‘furious’ that things haven’t gone his way, ‘which is why he is not joining in the Democratic Party’s support of Harris,’ the Biden source added.”
However, unconfirmed reports suggest that Obama will endorse Harris shortly, as wavering Pelosi, Schumer and Jeffries have already done in the meantime.
Forbes wrote on July 23:
“Another regulatory train wreck is coming in California, which calls itself the Golden State. But California’s governance is pure lead. Never has an area with so much going for it—weather and natural beauty—been so mismanaged by its politicians. The tax and regulatory wounds they inflict are nonstop, which is why businesses and people are fleeing the state. For the first time since it achieved statehood in 1850, California has been losing population.
“Even so, the regulatory wreckers in Sacramento are still going at it. They are scheming to ban diesel-powered locomotives. Older engines would be prohibited by 2029, and longer-distance freight trains would have to be at zero emissions of carbon dioxide by 2035. The battery technology for these train engines doesn’t yet exist. But the once-Golden State’s modern socialists never let reality get in the way of their fantasies.
“Railroads will have to deposit billions of dollars into a special fund, so they’ll someday be able to buy zero-emission locomotives. In other words, money that could be productively employed now will instead sit around unused to buy what may never exist. After all, zero-emission train engines would require batteries up to ten times the size of today’s. Go for smaller such engines? Putting aside their inefficiency, smaller battery locomotives are vulnerable to fires and explosions.
“Given California’s economic size, these regs would end up banning some two-thirds of the nation’s locomotives from entering the state. California’s socialists know this would be a neat way to coerce the rest of the country to follow what California is doing… This whole exercise is dangerous. It makes trains and trucks more prone to accidents. It’s a massive waste of money that the private sector could otherwise use to enhance our standard of living.
“When it comes to transportation, California has demonstrated a unique ineptitude with its project to build a 463-mile high-speed rail system between San Francisco and Los Angeles… It’s a decade behind schedule, and the estimated cost has vaulted from $35 billion to $135 billion and climbing. Only one-fourth of the system’s length is under construction, with the route having been repeatedly altered for political reasons…”
Fox News reported on July 23:
“U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned Tuesday in the wake of mounting pressure following the assassination attempt on former President Trump… Cheatle wrote in a letter to the agency, ‘On July 13th, we fell short on that mission [to protect ‘our nation’s leaders’]… As your Director, I take full responsibility for the security lapse,’ she wrote…
“House Republicans [and Democrats]… had been calling on Cheatle to resign, calling her and the agency under her watch ‘the face of incompetence’… But Cheatle had defied those calls for days, maintaining she would not tender her resignation…”
Not unlike Biden.
NBC added:
“The Secret Service did not extend its security perimeter for the rally to include the complex that included that building, instead leaving it up to local law-enforcement officials to secure that area. Secret Service agents also allowed Trump to take the stage and begin speaking after receiving a report from local police that a suspicious person had been seen at the event. That person ended up being Crooks, who was killed by a Secret Service sniper after he filed multiple rounds at Trump…
“This past weekend, the Secret Service admitted that on the heels of the shooting it had incorrectly stated that the agency had not rejected requests from Trump’s campaign for enhanced security for him. The shooting, the most serious assassination attempt against a U.S. president in more than 40 years, came after the Secret Service was informed of intelligence that Trump was the target of an Iranian assassination plot…
“The Secret Service in recent years has been the target of criticism for a series of scandals and missteps.”
Some commentators have been asking: Was this only mere incompetency, negligence or oversight by the Secret Service, or was there more involved? Another question which is being raised is: Did the 20-year-old Crooks really work alone?
t-online wrote on July 19 (before Biden announced that he would stand down):
“On the occasion of the Republican Party Congress in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, CDU parliamentary group vice-president Jens Spahn accused the traffic light coalition of not adequately preparing for a possible new term in office for Donald Trump… He particularly criticized Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), who continues to show his open support for the current American President Joe Biden, despite his declining re-election chances.
“Spahn emphasized the need for the federal government to maintain discussions with both political parties in the USA. He particularly criticized the Chancellor’s strong focus on Biden as a risky strategy. ‘That’s irresponsible,’ said Spahn…
“After the assassination attempt on Trump, several heads of government, including from Canada and Great Britain [as well as from China], contacted him. According to Spahn, it was unclear whether Scholz was one of these. However, he emphasized the importance of personal relationships and statements favorable to Trump, and that he would be aware of who would come forward after such an incident and who would not.”
Bild Online wrote on July 18:
“Spahn makes it clear that he is not a Trump supporter. But he refuses to demonize the Republican. His surprising confession: ‘Trump’s Iran policy was right, ours was wrong,’ says Spahn. Because: Germany stuck to the nuclear agreement for a long time, which was intended to prevent an Iranian atomic bomb, but at the same time poured billions into the mullahs’ war chest – and allowed them to finance terrorist groups throughout the Middle East. Trump was different: He torpedoed the agreement and then had Iran’s most important terrorist general, Qasem Soleimani, eliminated.
“Instead, Spahn praises the Trump administration that focused on peace agreements between Arab states and Israel and made the historic Abraham Accords possible. Germany, which had long spoken of peace in the Middle East, was not even involved. Spahn’s conclusion: ‘It wasn’t that bad compared to what the President (Barack Obama) did before..”
All of these European leaders who kept defending Biden’s health in spite of the evidence to the contrary, might have to make a quick U-turn. But will they?
Apollo News wrote on July 23rd:
“As leaked documents from the RKI [Robert Koch Institute] reveal, the authority knew as early as the beginning of November 2021 that the ‘pandemic of the unvaccinated’ did not correspond to the technical facts. However, for political reasons, they persisted in spreading this lie.
“The journalist Aya Velazquez managed to publish the unredacted and uncensored minutes of the RKI crisis team. The documents were leaked to her by an informant who worked or is working for the RKI… The authority, which is subordinate to the Federal Ministry of Health, had previously prevented the unredacted release of the protocols.
“As these documents now show, among other things, a ‘pandemic of the unvaccinated’ never took place. The minutes from November 5, 2021 say: ‘The media is talking about a pandemic among the unvaccinated. From a technical point of view, this is not correct’… On that day at the RKI, people also asked themselves: ‘Should this be taken up in communication?’
“But the answer to this is clear. You don’t want to reveal the truth. After all, the thesis of the ‘pandemic of the unvaccinated’ is an ‘appeal to everyone who has not been vaccinated to get vaccinated.’ Furthermore, the document goes on to say, the ‘minister speaks at every press conference, presumably consciously’ about the ‘pandemic of the unvaccinated’. Therefore, this position ‘cannot be corrected’. By the way, the Federal Minister of Health at that time was not Karl Lauterbach, but Jens Spahn.
“… In the second half of 2021, the debate about and measures against unvaccinated people radicalized dramatically. The alleged ‘pandemic of the unvaccinated’ was repeatedly cited as the reason for this. Stricter 3G rules came into force on August 23. [vaccinated, recovered and tested; in German: geimpft, genesen and getested] At least the costs for the tests were still borne by the state. From October 11, this changed. According to a new regulation from the Federal Ministry of Health, tests now mostly had to be paid for out of your own pocket. The test results were valid for 24 hours and the prices at the test stations were around 20 euros. But the measures against unvaccinated people were further tightened at a breathtaking pace.
“On November 17, the federal and state governments agreed that a nationwide 2G rule [vaccinated and recovered; in German: geimpft and genesen] should be introduced… The humiliating debate about unvaccinated people reached its climax in November and December 2021. World Medical President Frank-Ulrich spoke of the ‘tyranny of the unvaccinated’ on November 7, 2021… On December 3, 2021, Sarah Bosetti compared the unvaccinated people to an ‘appendix’ that is not ‘essential for the survival of the entire complex’. The reason for this agitation and the coercive measures was the talk of the ‘pandemic of the unvaccinated’ which—as the RKI already knew on November 5, 2021 – never existed.”
Deutsche Welle wrote on July 24:
“Germany’s government has received some bad news at a time of tricky budget negotiations.
“The Higher Regional Court in Cologne has ruled in favor of a supplier of protective face masks, which the Federal Health Ministry [under Jens Spahn] ordered in 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but later refused to accept or pay for. The judges ruled that the ministry should pay €85 million ($92 million), plus €33 million in default interest
“The ruling may well have a knock-on effect, as another 100 similar lawsuits are pending in court. If the Health Ministry is defeated in these cases, it could face a record loss of €2.3 billion in total. The mask purchases are already considered one of the biggest tax wastage scandals in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany….
“The Health Ministry’s calculation was that with 5 million health care workers needing two masks a day, more than 3 billion masks would be needed each year. However, in the end, only 1.7 billion of the ordered masks were distributed. As early as 2023, 1.2 billion protective masks were destroyed because their expiry date had passed.”
Mish Talk wrote on July 18:
“Two-and-a-half years after Chancellor Olaf Scholz vowed to overhaul Germany’s military, his government’s proposed budget for 2025 calls for only a modest increase in defense spending… Boris Pistorius, Germany’s defense minister, had asked for an increase of 6.7 billion, or $7.3 billion, over the 52 billion euros, or nearly $57 billion, in this year’s budget. He was given only 1.2 billion. The shortfall deepened concerns that Mr. Scholz’s unpopular government lacks the will or political backing to push Germans to overcome their historical reluctance to take the lead militarily since the calamity of World War II. The budget, which has to pass Parliament before being adopted, also proposes that Germany cut its military aid to Ukraine by half in 2025.
“Mr. Trump has repeatedly complained about the European allies not paying their fair share in the NATO alliance… Senator J.D. Vance, Trump’s Vice President running mate, is an open critic of aid to Ukraine. Trump won’t care much about the cut to Ukraine other than to welcome it. But expect an immediate confrontation over Germany’s military spending and contribution to NATO… Germany can afford to spend more and pledged to do more, yet refuses to do so… Expect fireworks because they are coming. And those defense spending fireworks will be on top of tariff fireworks.”
The Sun wrote on July 19:
“SUMMER holidays have been ruined with thousands of flights cancelled as Microsoft’s meltdown sparked chaos world wide. In what has been branded the ‘largest IT outage in history’, major airport, airline, railway and supermarket services across the globe have been crippled by the CrowdStrike issue.
“More than 100 planes had to be grounded in the UK because of the Microsoft outage, while over 3,300 were cancelled globally. Television channels, banks, GPs and supermarkets around the world have been rocked by the chaos. Shops in Australia either had to shut down or go cash only after digital checkouts stopped working. In the US, emergency services lines went down in Alaska, Arizona, Indiana, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Ohio.
“Experts have warned that yesterday’s disaster highlights how reliant modern society is on technology and how vulnerable it is to glitches. The ‘blue screen of death’ on many Microsoft Windows computers was caused by a software update from a US cyber security firm called CrowdStrike… CrowdStrike, valued at over $80 billion before yesterday’s crisis, counts 29,000 companies as customers including schools, hospitals, supermarkets, airlines and banks…
“It comes as Sky News was also this morning knocked off the air completely…
“Stephanie Thomson, heading home to Dallas, Texas, from the [Edinburgh] airport told the PA news agency: ‘It was supposed to leave at 9.25am and change in Heathrow at 11am and we were supposed to get into Dallas later today. ‘We couldn’t get an answer from anybody. British Airways kept hanging up saying we have too many calls right now. ‘I was on hold with American (Airlines) for about an hour and 10 minutes before I finally hung up. ‘We just paid $6,800 for a one-way trip home, hopefully leaving tonight. I didn’t know what else to do. I just wanted something to get us home.’
“Customers trying to access their banks this morning have also found they are locked out due to the IT problem… Meanwhile, airborne flights are set to remain circling in airspace above until the issue has been resolved…
“In worrying reports, emergency service lines in the United States are understood to be affected. There have been claims that 911 emergency lines are down in several states including Arizona, Indiana, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Ohio and Alaska…”
The New York Post wrote on July 19:
“When CrowdStrike CEO (soon to be ex-CEO) George Kurtz said Friday morning that ‘this is not a security incident or cyber attack,’ you should not have been reassured. This was hours after an update to their antivirus software had caused well over a billion Windows computers to cease to function completely, taking out crucial services at hospitals, airports, city services, and everything from jails to subways. As these systems visibly collapsed on Friday into Windows ‘blue screens of death,’ they did so not from malicious actors, but from small, ordinary human error. And the failure is massive: over a billion computers now need individual attention, since there’s no longer a way to communicate with any of these computers remotely. ‘A fix has been deployed,’ Kurtz said, neglecting to mention that the broken computers are not able to receive that fix. The damage will likely be far greater than it seems right now.
“Even now, many hours after the initial failures, there is no clear agreement on how it happened or where oversight had been or should have been — nor even how best to fix it. In recent years, there have been an increasing number of widescale internet outages, whether from Amazon’s cloud platform collapsing, misconfigurations in fundamental network infrastructure, or actual hardware.
“The CrowdStrike outage was worse than any of these because it didn’t just hit the backbone of the internet, but individual endpoint computers, knocking out crucial services not just from a central failure, but by taking down everything it touches.
“It is also not an anomaly. Lawmakers and tech mavens will make much of the oversights that caused this disaster, but there will be less talk of the more difficult problem: its inevitability. No matter what steps are taken, at the end of the day this sort of mistake only has to happen a single time to cause a catastrophe. Yet in a hyper-networked world like ours, the number of possible catastrophes are so great that we cannot hope to anticipate and protect against them all…
“Twenty years ago, the internet was a mishmash of competing and barely compatible standards and providers. As giants like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft dominate and standardize the practices, they only bind these systems more tightly together. Friday’s outage ‘only’ affected Windows computers, but that is cold comfort when they make up a majority of desktops and servers in the world today… While individual actors and negligent companies may be punished or fined, no one will walk away from this feeling safe that it won’t happen again — because it will… The next CrowdStrike is coming…”
Breitbart wrote on July 20:
“Former President Donald Trump said Friday he had spoken by telephone with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky and vowed to end the war with Russia... Mr Trump said that he had a ‘very good phone call’ with President Zelensky, in which the Ukrainian leader congratulated the former president for once again becoming the Republican nominee for President of the United States and condemned the ‘heinous assassination attempt’ on his life last Saturday. ‘I appreciate President Zelensky for reaching out because I, as your next President of the United States, will bring peace to the world and end the war that has cost so many lives and devastated countless innocent families,’ Mr Trump wrote. ‘Both sides will be able to come together and negotiate a deal that ends the violence and paves a path forward to prosperity.’
“The Ukrainian president confirmed the phone call with the frontrunner in the 2024 presidential race… ‘We agreed with President Trump to discuss at a personal meeting what steps can make peace fair and truly lasting,’ Zelensky said in a post on X… ‘Ukraine will always be grateful to the United States for its help in strengthening our ability to resist Russian terror. Russian attacks on our cities and villages continue every day…’
“Prior to the phone call, Zelensky said this week that he would ‘work’ together with Trump if he wins the White House in November…
“Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán released a letter detailing his assessment of the current state of play and his recommendations for the European Union going forward. The Hungarian PM warned that there is a growing feeling that the ‘intensity of the military conflict will radically escalate in the near future… I personally witnessed that the warring parties are determined to involve themselves deeper into the conflict, and neither of them would like to make initiatives for a ceasefire or peace negotiations. Therefore we can assume that tensions will not decrease and the parties will not start searching for a way out of the conflict without significant external involvement.’
“Orbán said that President Trump, whom he said will likely win the election in November, will ‘be ready to act as a peace broker immediately’ after his victory and will not wait until his inauguration, adding: ‘He has detailed and well-founded plans for this.’ Therefore, he argued that the EU should begin to shift its strategy from copying the ‘pro-war policy’ of the Biden administration to making an ‘effort to decrease tensions and/or create the conditions for a temporary ceasefire and/or start peace negotiations.’”
The European Conservative wrote on July 18:
“In her final pitch before the vote on Thursday in front of the European Parliament’s plenary, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made it clear once again where her priorities lie by attacking right-wing sovereigntist and Eurosceptic forces that she claims threaten the ‘European way of life,’ whatever that often-repeated but intentionally vague term might entail… Implying that the sovereigntist parties in the Patriots group are ‘anti-democratic’ is ironic, given that they are the third-largest bloc in the European Parliament with a stronger democratic mandate than the Liberals and the Greens, two of von der Leyen’s leftist coalition partners.
“Instead, what’s truly undemocratic is to deny such a force its fair representation among the Parliament’s top positions as the EU’s internal rules would have it, but it seems von der Leyen is even proud of this cordon sanitaire that takes away the voice of sixty million Europeans.
“The Commission president also took a cynical jab at Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán, who recently went on a tour to meet relevant leaders on both sides of the Ukrainian conflict… ‘This so-called ‘peace mission’ was nothing but an appeasement mission,’ von der Leyen declared, promising to keep supporting Ukraine as long as it takes, without considering any compromise. Never mind that Europeans in most member states are way more likely to agree with Orban and expect the EU to press for a ceasefire as well, nor that Kyiv itself is also becoming increasingly open to dialogue with Moscow.
“Otherwise, von der Leyen’s program for the next five years is just as one would expect from a center-left grand coalition. She recommitted to the Green Deal and all its ambitious climate policies and decarbonization goals which brought half of Europe’s farmers onto the streets these past months… as well as focusing on renewable energy to replace fossil fuels, without even mentioning nuclear.
“Von der Leyen also pledged to recommit to her other flagship policy package, the Migration Pact, praising it as the product of a brilliant pan-European compromise, when in reality, the opposite is true. ‘Many pessimists thought that migration was too divisive to agree on. But we proved them wrong. Together we made it,’ she said, forgetting that only 20 out of the 27 member states endorsed the final package in the end, and those opposing it were stripped of their veto to stop it.”
Von der Leyen was of course reelected.
Politico wrote on July 17:
“The European Parliament rejected a far-right proposal to discuss the attempted assassination of Donald Trump and rising political violence. The Patriots for Europe group requested a debate on the Trump shooting and called for a resolution condemning the violence. The proposal was rejected with 337 votes against, 119 in favor and 15 abstentions. Another far-right group, Europe of Sovereign Nations, voted in favor, as did the hard-right European Conservatives and Reformists group, which contains the members of European Parliament belonging to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s party, the Brothers of Italy.
“‘Today in the European Parliament the Patriots for Europe proposed to have a debate on the assassination attempt against former US President Donald Trump and the rise of political violence in Europe, but the traditional groups rejected this,’ the Patriots group wrote in a post on social media. Patriots for Europe was formed last month and is the European Parliament’s third-largest group. It is home to MEPs belonging to the parties of Viktor Orbán and Marine Le Pen [as well as Austria’s FPO].
“The center-right European People’s Party (EPP), Socialists and Democrats, liberal Renew Europe, the Greens, and The Left all voted against debating the attempted assassination. It is normal for these groups to reject debate proposals from far-right forces, as part of the so-called cordon sanitaire that keeps them out of the policymaking loop. ‘We will not give a platform to enemies of democracy, we believe a cordon sanitaire is necessary for all far-right groups in Parliament to prevent them from making anti-democratic positions mainstream,’ The Left’s group co-chair Martin Schirdewan told POLITICO. ‘We had an agreement among political groups not to add any debate to this plenary beyond support to Ukraine,’ an EPP spokesperson told POLITICO.
“‘The left-liberal majority of the European Parliament … does not want to condemn the assassination attempt against Donald Trump,’ the group’s first Vice President Kinga Gál, an MEP for Orbán’s Fidesz party, wrote on social media after the vote. ‘They refuse to speak out about the violence committed against patriotic politicians.’ Belgian far-right MEP and Patriots member Tom Vandendriessche also voiced outrage over the rejected proposal, calling it ‘hypocrisy.’ ‘The outrage over attacks on democracy seems to be quite selective in the European Parliament,’ he said.”
It surely is. This hypocrisy of the EU Parliament is hard to swallow. The Left had just before asked for a debate regarding the deaths in the Gaza strip [which the EU likewise rejected.] Trump will most certainly not forget this anti-Democratic behavior of the EU, and its hostile stance towards him personally.
Life Site News wrote on July 19:
“A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) advisory board characterized supporters of former President Donald Trump, as well as those who are in the military and religious people, as posing potential domestic terrorism risks, according to internal documents obtained by America First Legal (AFL). The board, called the ‘Homeland Intelligence Experts Group,’ was created in September 2023 to provide DHS with ‘expert’ analysis on subjects such as terrorism and fentanyl trafficking. The panel included former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan and former CIA Operations Officer Paul Kolbe… all of them ‘signed an October 2020 letter casting doubt on the legitimacy of the Hunter Biden laptop and suggesting its release was a Russian disinformation ploy.’
“Internal documents obtained by AFL show the board characterizing ‘supporters of the former president’ as constituting ‘most of the Domestic Terrorism threat’ in the United States. The documents also classified traits such as having served ‘in the military’ and being ‘religious’ as ‘indicators of extremists and terrorism’…”
CNN wrote on July 19:
“Evan Gershkovich, [a Wall Street Journal reporter and] the first American journalist to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since the Cold War, has been found guilty of spying and sentenced to 16 years in prison by a Russian court, in a case that the US government, his newspaper and supporters have denounced as a sham… The speed of the trial has raised questions over whether the Kremlin is intending to use him as part of a prisoner swap deal with the United States, suggestions which spokesman Dmitry Peskov left without comment when asked about them on a Friday conference call ahead of the verdict announcement.
“Gershkovich was arrested while reporting for the WSJ, during a trip to Yekaterinburg in March 2023, and later accused of spying for the CIA. Russian authorities have never offered any public evidence to support their claims.
Within two weeks of his arrest in March 2023, the US State Department designated him as wrongfully detained and called for his immediate release.
“In a statement following Friday’s sentencing, Gershkovich’s employer said: ‘This disgraceful, sham conviction comes after Evan has spent 478 days in prison, wrongfully detained, away from his family and friends, prevented from reporting, all for doing his job as a journalist…’
“Journalist advocacy group, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), joined the chorus of criticism, pointing out Russia’s current record as the world’s fourth-worst jailer of journalists, with at least 22 currently behind bars…”
JTA added on July 19:
“Gershkovich, 32, is the American-born son of Jewish refugees from the Soviet Union. His case has drawn support from the Jewish community and supporters of democracy and the free press who are pushing for his release. The Jewish Federations of North America called the verdict a ‘sham.’… [This makes him] at least the fifth prominent Jewish writer targeted by Russia for dissenting comments since the outbreak of the current Russia-Ukraine war… “
The Washington Free Beacon wrote on July 19:
“Iran’s new president, widely touted in Western media outlets as a ‘moderate’ and ‘reformist,’ has spent the weeks following his election pledging to arm regional terror groups and assembling an international ‘Axis of Resistance’ to threaten America.
“In the two weeks since he rose to the presidency, Masoud Pezeshkian has pledged to continue supporting Hamas, provided Hezbollah assistance to destroy the ‘illegitimate Zionist regime,’ and lobbied for rosier relations with Russia and China as part of the trio’s Axis of Resistance against America… ‘The Islamic Republic of Iran has always supported the resistance of the people in the region against the illegitimate Zionist regime,’ he wrote to Hezbollah’s secretary general on July 8. ‘Supporting the resistance is rooted in the fundamental policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the ideals of the late Imam Khomeini, and the guidance of the Supreme Leader, and will continue with strength.’
“Pezeshkian’s quick embrace of the hardline regime’s policies stands in stark contrast to his portrayal across Western media, particularly in America, where publications including the New York Times, CNN, the Washington Post, USA Today, and the Financial Times touted his victory as a sea change for Tehran…
“Pezeshkian’s message to Israel… was clear: The Jewish state ‘remains an apartheid regime to this day, now adding ‘genocide’ to a record already marred by occupation, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, settlement-building, nuclear weapons possession, illegal annexation, and aggression against its neighbors.’…
“Earlier this week, Pezeshkian held talks with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, signaling that support for Hamas remains at the top of his presidential agenda…”
Firstpost wrote on July 19:
“The Houthis of Yemen have claimed responsibility for a drone strike on Israel’s Tel Aviv in the early hours of Friday in which at least one person has died and 10 others have been injured. The Israeli army has said that a falling ‘aerial target’ caused a massive blast. In a statement, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said their ‘UAV force’ attacked ‘one of the important targets in the occupied Jaffa region, what is now called Israeli Tel Aviv.’
“…Houthis have repeatedly launched drones and missiles toward Israel throughout the nine-month-long Israel war, in sympathy with Hamas. The rebels have also carried out dozens of attacks against Red Sea shipping in what they say is an act of solidarity with Palestinians during the Gaza war.”
JTA added on July 19:
“It was the deepest strike into Israeli territory claimed by the Houthis… Israeli authorities said human error prevented civilians from being alerted to the drone.
“The drone exploded in the air, according to police at the scene, and shrapnel from the bomb killed one man and injured several others… Friday’s attack demonstrated that the regional conflicts sparked by the war, involving the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah in addition to the Houthis and others, also have the potential of reaching Israel’s population centers.”
Breitbart wrote on July 20:
“The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Saturday that it had struck the ‘Houthi terrorist regime’ in Yemen for the first time, launching a long-distance airstrike on the Al Hudaydah Port, targeting the origin of a drone that hit Israel Friday…
“Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who monitored the attack together with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from Israeli Air Force (IAF) headquarters, said… that the ‘fires that are burning now in Hudaydah’ are being seen in ‘the entire Middle East,’ a warning to enemies of Israel. Iran is roughly the same distance away from Israel as Yemen.
“According to a press briefing by IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari on Saturday evening, the attack was carried out by fighter jets, not remotely, with pilots flying 1,700 kilometers and returning home safely. Hagari said that Israel did not want a war with Yemen as a whole: ‘Yemen is a big country. Only a part of it is run by the Houthis.’ He emphasized that the target was the Iran-backed Houthi terrorist regime, not the people of Yemen… The attack was carried out solely by Israeli forces, Hagari said, though the U.S. and other allies were reportedly informed afterwards.
“Israel’s Army Radio said that Israel had destroyed both military targets and utilities that are used by the Houthis, such as fuel and electricity installations. The Times of Israel added that one of the goals of the attack was to disable the port through which Iran brings in weapons. Israel’s security cabinet held an unusual emergency meeting on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, during the attack.
“The Iran-backed Houthis have attacked Israel, without provocation, since the Hamas terror attacks of October 7… There were over 200 Houthi attacks on Israel before Friday, and Israel did not respond to any of them, under pressure from the U.S…”
The Associated Press wrote on July 19:
“The top U.N. court ruled Friday that Israel’s presence in the Palestinian occupied territories is ‘unlawful’ and called on it to end, pointing to the building and expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and east Jerusalem, its annexation and imposition of permanent control over lands and discriminatory policies against Palestinians.
“The International Court of Justice was issuing a non-binding opinion on the legality of Israel’s 57-year occupation of lands sought for a Palestinian state, and the ruling is likely to have more effect on international opinion than it will on Israeli policies. The court’s panel of 15 judges from around the world said Israel has abused its status as the occupying power in the West Bank and east Jerusalem by carrying out policies of annexing territory, imposing permanent control and building settlements. It said Israel must end settlement construction immediately….”
The Times of Israel added on July 19:
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, numerous cabinet ministers as well as settler leaders roundly denounced the ruling, with some calling for the immediate formal annexation of the West Bank in response… ‘The Jewish people are not occupiers in their own land — not in our eternal capital Jerusalem, not in the land of our ancestors in Judea and Samaria,’ Netanyahu said, using the biblical names for the West Bank. ‘No false decision in The Hague will distort this historical truth, just as the legality of Israeli settlement in all the territories of our homeland cannot be contested.’”
Several countries do not recognize the legitimacy of the International Court of Justice, including China, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, North Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the USA. The ICJ is different from the International Criminal Court [ICC] which is rejected by over 60 countries, including Israel and the USA.
Breitbart wrote on July 24:
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met… with evangelical Christian leaders on Tuesday evening as part of his visit to the U.S. In a statement, the Israeli Government Press Office said:
“‘The Prime Minister expressed his appreciation to the community leaders for their strong and constant support of Israel but especially in these complicated times. Prime Minister Netanyahu heard from them about their prayers for the return of the hostages, the wellbeing of the soldiers and the security of the State of Israel. The Prime Minister also thanked the evangelicals for their vigorous activity among the community’s young people to encourage continued support for Israel. Prime Minister Netanyahu added that he is well aware of their deep commitment to Israel and how strong their support is for the truth and our common values.’
“Netanyahu is set to address Congress on Wednesday afternoon, before meetings with President Joe Biden and (separately, and privately) Vice President Kamala Harris, who is the presumptive Democratic nominee for president. On Friday, he will travel to Mar-a-Lago in Florida to meet with former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president.”
Biblical prophecy reveals that a third temple will be built in Jerusalem prior to Christ’s return. It has been suggested by some that evangelical Christians will participate in some way in the building of the Temple.
Breitbart wrote on July 24:
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a powerful speech to a special joint session of Congress on Wednesday… He recalled the many attacks by Iran and its proxies against Americans, and noted Iran’s intent to target America after controlling the Middle East. In defending itself, he said, Israel was defending the United States as well… He rebuked anti-Israel protesters, alluding to the thousands who had gathered outside the Capitol, noting that they stood with Hamas and with ‘evil,’ and noting that they often attacked the U.S. and American symbols…
“Netanyahu thanked Biden… for building… an alliance in the Red Sea in his efforts to thwart the Houthis… The prime minister then offered effusive praise for former President Donald Trump and his support for Israel, including moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and forging the Abraham Accords. Netanyahu’s praise for Trump was notably much longer than his praise for President Biden…
“The speech, described by pundits afterwards as ‘masterful,’ was extremely well-received, with many standing ovations — including from supporters of Israel like Elon Musk, who joined spectators in the gallery…”
Netanyahu also said he had a message for the protesters: “You have officially become Iran’s useful idiots.”
NBC News added on July 24:
“[Kamala] Harris, who as president of the Senate would normally preside over such an address, did not attend the speech. Neither did several other prominent Democrats, including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, of California, and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, of Illinois, the No. 2 leader. Retiring Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., an Orthodox Jew and chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, presided over the address instead… Johnson said Tuesday that it was ‘inexcusable’ that Harris was skipping Netanyahu’s speech and that she should be ‘held accountable’ for it.”
In fact, about half of House and Senate Democrats boycotted and skipped the speech.
Nancy Pelosi sharply criticized the speech, saying it “was by far the worst presentation of any foreign dignitary invited and honored with the privilege of addressing the Congress of the United States.”
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.
One eminent and highly intelligent Catholic writer made these observations: “As Catholics, it is essential to speak our sins to Christ through the priest in persona Christi that we might develop habits of examining our consciences, confessing our sins, receiving sacramental grace, resolving to improve, and receiving the real grace of the sacrament of Penance. Such habits alert us to our vanities and ego and in turn inspire in us reverence and humility.”
We would agree that it is a good habit to use the tool of introspection; 2 Corinthians 13:5 gives us this admonition: “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Prove yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.” This is particularly required of the people of God to do before they take the Passover: “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup” (1 Corinthians 11:28), but it should also be an ongoing process throughout the year.
But what is the Sacrament of PENANCE? It is worth spending some time on this whole matter as it is quite revealing about how the largest Christian mainstream group managed to come to this incorrect conclusion through the misunderstanding of Scripture. On the website yourcatholicguide, we read the following: “Penance is the sacrament by which sins committed after Baptism are forgiven through the absolution of the priest.”
First of all, let us look at the question of baptism. On the website catholicdoors, we read: “In the Roman Catholic Church, most believers are baptized by pouring (also known as infusion). At the same time, Catholics know that immersion (also known as dunking) and sprinkling are valid ways of baptizing… in A.D. 1311, the Catholic Church proclaimed ‘Baptism is to be administered by tribe immersion or aspersion.” “Aspersion” means “sprinkling.”
We have a free booklet entitled “Baptism – A Requirement for Salvation?”, which covers this matter in detail, showing that baptism by total immersion is the correct and only valid format.
Secondly, let us look at whether the assertion is biblical that “Penance is the sacrament by which sins committed after Baptism are forgiven through the absolution of the priest.”
Wikipedia gives us the definition of “In persona Christi”: “In persona Christi is a Latin phrase meaning ‘in the person of Christ’, an important concept in Roman Catholicism and, in varying degrees, to other Christian traditions, such as Lutheranism and Anglicanism. In Catholic theology, a priest is In persona Christi because, in the sacraments he administers, it is God and Christ who act through the instrumentality of the priest.”
This explanation is not totally accurate. The Catholic teaching is not only that the priest acts on behalf of Christ, but that it is the living Christ who is present and acts. In other words, the priest acts in the person of Christ. In that sense, he becomes Christ. When the priest absolves the penitent, he doesn’t say, “God absolves you from your sins” but rather “I absolve you from your sins,” because he is acting in the person of Christ at that moment.
With a priest being involved, the word “absolution” comes into play. The definition of absolution is “An absolving, or setting free from guilt, sin, or penalty; forgiveness of an offense” (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).
At the time of Christ, Jews condemned Him when He forgave sins. In Mark 2:7, we read: “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” In Luke 5:21, we read: “And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” When He was on earth, Jesus did forgive sins (see Matthew 9:2; Mark 2:10; Luke 5:24; 7:48-49) as He was the Son of God. It is claimed that Christ gave the apostles the authority to forgive sins, while others deny this.
We read in John 20:21-23: “Then Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.’ And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’”
The passage in John 20 is in direct connection with the power and authority to bind and loose, which Christ conferred on His ministers. We state the following in our Q&A on that topic https://www.eternalgod.org/question-and-answer-70/:
“We are told in Matthew 16:19, that Christ gave Peter the ‘keys of the kingdom of heaven’… Christ continues to say that whatever ‘thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven’ (Authorized Version). Christ addresses Peter in this passage, as the word ‘thou,’ a singular word, shows. However, in Matthew 18:18, Christ does not only speak to Peter, when He says: ‘Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever YE shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever YE shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven (Authorized Version).’ While the word ‘thou’ (in Matthew 16:19) refers to just one person, the word ‘ye’ (in Matthew 18:18) refers to more than one person.
“In Matthew 18:15-17, Christ had just explained the proper procedure regarding an unrepentant brother or sister. If he or she does not hear ‘the church,’ that is, the ministry, ‘let him be unto THEE as an heathen man and a publican.’ It is the church, through its ministry, which will make the decision to disassociate from such a person. Such a decision involves, of course, a judgment whether or not the person is repentant and whether or not the sins of the person are forgiven. And so, we read in John 20:22-23 (Authorized Version): ‘And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive YE the Holy [Spirit]: Whose soever sins YE remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins YE retain, they are retained.’
“The ministry has been given the authority from God, to ‘bind and loose,’ and to ‘remit’ and ‘retain’ sin. It is critical that we understand correctly the scope of this authority. When returning to Matthew 16:19, we find, in the New King James Bible, the following annotation in the margin: ‘Or, “will have been bound… will have been loosed.”’ The Ryrie Study Bible explains: ‘Lit., “shall have been bound… shall have been loosed.” Heaven, not the apostles, initiates all binding and loosing, while the apostles announce these things…”
“The New American Standard Bible translates Matthew 16:19, as follows: ‘…and whatever you shall bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven’…
“Regarding John 20:23, the Ryrie Study Bible states: ‘Since only God can forgive sins (Mark 2:7), the disciples and the Church are here given the authority to declare what God does when a man either accepts or rejects His Son.’ We might also add that Christ had announced to them that they would soon receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us wisdom and discernment, and enables especially the ministry, when used correctly, to ascertain whether a person is repentant or not…
“The New Bible Commentary: Revised… adds the following remarks: ‘The promise does not of course mean that God will be bound by anything that Peter says (cf. Gal. 2:11), but that things done according to the will of Christ will have binding validity….’
In another Q&A on John 20:23, https://www.eternalgod.org/i-am-having-trouble-understanding-john-2020-23-did-jesus-give-the-apostles-and-the-church-the-power-to-forgive-sin/ we state the following:
“[It] is critically important to understand… that Peter and the rest of the apostles were given authority to baptize in the name of Jesus Christ and to lay hands on those baptized for the receiving of God’s Holy Spirit. They did not forgive those repenting of sins, but they were guided by God to see in people fruits worthy of repentance and those who did not have them—such as with Simon (Acts 8:18-24). John the Baptist was guided by God as well (Matthew 3:8). But they did not give the Holy Spirit, for this was done by God (Acts 5:32)…
“When Ananias and Sapphira lied to Peter, they died (Acts 5:1-11). To Ananias, Peter said, ‘“…You have not lied to men but to God”’ (verse 4); to Sapphira, Peter said, “‘How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.”’ Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things’ (verses 9-11).
“Peter dealt with the sin of lying and there were consequences; however, it was not he who caused the death of Ananias or Sapphira—it was God…
“In the two letters to the Corinthians, Paul addressed a grievous sin being committed and knowingly condoned by others: ‘It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles–that a man has his father’s wife! And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you’ (1 Corinthians 5:1-2).
“Paul directed that this person be expelled from the Church, and it was to be done by the authority of Christ. That meant the sin was to be judged based on God’s Law: ‘In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus’ (1 Corinthians 5:4-5).
“Because Paul decisively confronted sin by disfellowshipping the man, the sinning individual repented! In this poignant example, Paul ‘retained’ the man’s sins through applying the Law of God. When there was repentance, the man was ‘forgiven’… God uses His Church to lead people to repentance of sins. Now, though, and unlike the priestly administration in ancient Israel, because of the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, upon true repentance, God will forgive a person’s sins.”
There is a fundamental distinction between trespasses and sins. Trespass is against another human being, but sin is against God. It is true that we should confess our trespasses to one another (James 5:16). But this does not apply to confessing our sins to others.
We wrote the following in a Q&A on the topic of confessing our sins to others https://www.eternalgod.org/q-a-3815/:
“The Bible teaches that we are to confess our sins to God. We read in 1 John 1:8-9, ‘If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’ Other Scriptures clarify that such confession must be made to God. Romans 14:10-12 states, ‘But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written: “As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.’
“We read that the people came to John the Baptist, ‘confessing their sins’ (Matthew 3:6). Note, however, it does not say that they were confessing their sins to John. Other Scriptures tell us that confession of sins is to be made to God.
“The practice taught by some religions to confess our sins to a human mediator to obtain forgiveness by that person is not Biblical. We are taught that we have only one Mediator and Advocate between God and man who makes intercession for us before God the Father — Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:5; 1 John 2:1-2; Hebrews 7:25). It is God who forgives sin (Mark 2:7; Isaiah 43:25; Acts 5:31). David understood that sin, in the final analysis, is against God (Psalm 51:3-4), as God gave us His law which defines for us sinful conduct (James 4:12).
“John 20:23 does not justify a different conclusion… This passage does not teach confession to a priest… Jesus’ words in John 20:23 — as well as in Matthew 16:19 and Matthew 18:18 — are not to be understood as saying that God’s ministers are free to ‘forgive’ sins — or to refuse to grant forgiveness — and that God is bound by such a decision. Rather, the passages, correctly translated, convey the thought that God inspires His ministers to make those decisions, and whatever they bind on earth HAS ALREADY BEEN bound by God in heaven.
“We should therefore generally not ‘confess’ or tell our sins to others. There is, however, one exception to this rule. We are being told in James 5:16 that we are to ‘confess [our] trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that [we] may be healed.’ The Greek word for ‘trespass,’ paraptoma, is used in numerous additional passages, for instance in Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:1; 2:5; or 2 Corinthians 5:19. It is consistently and correctly translated in the New King James Bible as ‘trespasses’ in those passages. We are told in Colossians 2:13 that God, upon our repentance, forgives us all of our ‘trespasses.’ We are also told that if we forgive men their ‘trespasses,’ our Father will forgive us our ‘trespasses’ as well, but if we do not forgive men their ‘trespasses,’ our Father will not forgive us our ‘trespasses,’ either (Matthew 6:14-15; compare Matthew 18:35).
“The ‘trespasses’ which we need to confess to our brother or sister, in order to obtain his or her ‘forgiveness,’ are those that we have committed against our brother or our sister. Mark 11:25-26 tells us, ‘And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.’ Unresolved problems between brethren might even prevent healing of physical sickness. James 5:16 tells us, ‘Confess your trespasses to one another [with the goal to ‘clear the air’], and pray for one another, THAT you may be healed.’ After all, Christ told Peter to forgive his repenting brother ‘seventy times seven.’ In Peter’s question, the brother had sinned against Peter and had come to him to express to him his sorrow — in other words, to ‘confess’ to Peter his trespass or sin against Peter…
“If we commit a sin or trespass against someone else, resulting in an offense and a problem within our relationship with that other person, we are to ‘confess’ our sin or trespass to that person, asking him or her for forgiveness, with the goal of restoring our relationship… At the same time, the Bible does not teach that we should ‘confess’ or tell others (including a minister) sins that we might have committed against God. God can forgive and forget (Hebrews 8:12) — people, though, being human, have a long memory many times when it comes to the sins of others.”
When we forgive another person for whatever the problem was, we are forgiving their trespass against us and we are admonished not to hold a grudge. Leviticus 19:18 reads: “You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.”
It is very different than God forgiving us. We must understand that there is quite a contrast and distinction between God’s forgiveness and our forgiveness of others. The following verses show that when we receive the forgiveness of God, He blots out the sin and removes the guilt.
We read in Isaiah 43:25:” “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.”
In Psalm 103:3 is further instruction: “Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases,” and verses 10-12: “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.”
When the Bible speaks about us forgiving others, it is different than God forgiving us. God forgives sins because only He can forgive sins that violate His standards.
Regarding the Roman Catholic priest and his involvement in the “forgiving of sins,” 1 Timothy 2:5 is instructive: “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” The Greek word for “Mediator” is “mesites” which means “middle man,” and that is Jesus Christ, not a Roman Catholic priest.
The website catholic.com has a very long explanation about absolution and the following is but a brief extract:
“Absolution (Ab = from; solvere = to free), is the remission of sin, or of the punishment due to sin, granted by the Church… Absolution proper is that act of the priest whereby, in the Sacrament of Penance, he frees man from sin. It presupposes on the part of the penitent, contrition, confession, and promise at least of satisfaction; on the part of the minister, valid reception of the Order of Priesthood and jurisdiction, granted by competent authority, over the person receiving the sacrament. That there is in the Church power to absolve sins committed after baptism the Council of Trent thus declares: ‘But the Lord then principally instituted the Sacrament of Penance, when, being raised from the dead, He breathed upon His disciples saying, ‘Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them, and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.’ By which action so signal, and words so clear the consent of all the Fathers has ever understood that the power of forgiving and retaining sins was communicated to the Apostles, and to their lawful successors for the reconciling of the faithful who have fallen after baptism.”
As we have explained above, this interpretation is totally wrong and unbiblical. The website of 9marks concurs, stating:
“If absolution from sin is the meaning of Jesus’ words in John 20:23, then we must ponder exactly what His intention was when He gave His followers authority to forgive sin (or not). Did He make them judges and invest in them power to pass judiciary sentence, granting or withholding divine pardon, as the Catholic Church teaches? Or did Jesus make them His ambassadors to proclaim forgiveness through faith in His name, as Christians believe? In other words, can a sinner receive forgiveness directly from God through faith, or must he avail himself of the Catholic priest’s mediation? The Bible is clear: no priest is needed to mediate between God and man, ‘For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus’ (1 Timothy 2:5). The Catholic teaching of absolution is not scriptural.”
In our free booklet “Why This Confusion About Life After Death?,” we cover such matters as “A Catholic Priest Cannot Give Absolution to a Dying Person” and many other erroneous and non-biblical teachings. Quoting briefly from this, we read:
“The Catholic Church believes that a Catholic priest can give absolution to a dying person but this is not biblical. Only God can forgive sins upon true repentance (see Luke 5:21 and Mark 2:7). We read that absolution, in the ecclesiastical sense, implies a remission of sin or its penalties. In the Roman Catholic Church, the power to absolve is vested in the priest as we read above, and he assigns a penance! However, we are NOT to confess our sins to a priest, but to God. Also, this absolution is made in the name of the Trinity which is yet another non-biblical error. There is nothing biblical about this approach at all. As we have seen, the Bible does not teach the Trinity.”
All of this information must surely reveal to those who have eyes to see that, as also in many other matters, the Roman Catholic Church misunderstands what is written in the Word of God. Those of us in the Church of God must not fall into the trap of accepting non-biblical practices. We have the Bible as our guide to life and we read a passage of Scripture where Jesus was praying for His disciples when He said: “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:15-17).
And God’s Word is what we must live by!
Lead Writers: Brian Gale (United Kingdom) and Norbert Link
compiled by Dave Harris
A new Member Letter (July 2023) has been posted and mailed to our subscribers. Pastor Eric Rank focuses on the “spiritually polluted environment” of our time, and he encourages us to bear the fruit of righteousness to overcome evil’s influence.
“Many Are Called, But Few Are Chosen,” is the title of a new booklet which has been sent to graphic designer, Shelly Bruno, in preparation for printing. In addition, a Spanish language translation of our booklet, “Do We Have an Immortal Soul?” will soon be posted.
“Deutschland zerstört die Presse- und Meinungsfreiheit,” is the title of a new AufPostenStehen program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Title in English: “Germany Crushes Freedom of Speech and of the Press.”
“Sind Sie wirklich gesegnet?” this Sabbath’s German presented by Pastor Michael Link, is now posted. Title in English: “Are You Really Blessed?”
“Wie kann diese Welt wahren Frieden erfahren?” last Sabbath’s German sermonette presented by Deacon Johann Schell, is now posted. Title in English: “How Can This World Experience True Peace?”
“Compassion,” the sermonette presented last Sabbath by Pastor Eric Rank, is now posted. Here is the summary:
Compassion is a product of Christian love. It begins with empathy for others’ circumstances in life. When combined with care, concern, and a willingness to help, compassion bears the fruit of love. What can we learn about compassion from the example of Jesus Christ and instruction in the Bible?
“Will an Aborted Child Live Again?” the sermon presented last Sabbath by Pastor Dave Harris, is now posted. Here is a summary:
Few understand what the Bible so clearly reveals—all people will die, and all people will live again! Even the unborn will be brought back to life to appear before God!
Carol M. Busse (Alberta, Canada) died on June 30 at 6:10 PM at the age of 80. She was pre-deceased by her husband Max Busse in 2019 and is mourned by her son Ron, many family members, church members and friends. Both Max and Carol were baptized in 1969.
