On November 16, 2024, Eric Rank will present the sermonette, titled, “A Mind to Work,” and Dave Harris will present the sermon, titled, “Why Are There Preachers?”
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.
Update 1133
Do We Really Need to Study the Word of God?
We are now a few weeks past the Feast of Tabernacles. We have settled back into our routines, and we are once again dealing with the things that make up our individual lives.
Usually, after a Feast, I personally feel a very strong desire to once again be a Christian. The fire is burning within me and the excitement for what we believe is strongly in my mind and it is revived with me. Then, as the weeks start to blend together, the daily life becomes mundane. It is a challenge to maintain the amount of zeal and excitement that was felt at the Feast of Tabernacles.
I don’t think that I am alone in feeling this way!
How do we maintain the feelings that we had at the Feast?
We are told many times that while it is a proclivity for people to feel this way – to get sad, frustrated, angry or mad – we must realize that we don’t have to feel this way. In fact, we are told we are to be just the opposite.
We are reminded that we are to be zealous, on fire, stirring up the Spirit of God within us and enduring (Romans 12:11; Hebrews 10:36; 1 Corinthians 14:12; 2 Timothy 1:6-7). This doesn’t leave a lot of room for becoming lazy or disinterested.
I have been thinking deeply about how to sustain that same level of enthusiasm that I felt at the Feast. One of the things that has been coming to mind over and over is a deep need to spend time in Bible study. We often emphasize that it is important to study, but I truly wonder how much time we each spend reading and studying the Bible on a regular basis.
We find in Hebrews 4:12 (in the New International Version) a very decisive reason as to WHY we should be studying: “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
We can understand our thoughts, our emotions, our zeal, our fire and passion for the Truth when we are studying the Word of God. Without this studying, our religion may become empty.
Turning to 2 Timothy 2:15 and quoting from the Authorized Version, we find another example: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Again, this shows us that in studying the Word of God — ingraining it into our thoughts — it will become a part of who we are. It will sustain and help us to maintain the type of attitudes and mindsets that we need in dealing with the situations that come up in our lives.
When we fail to or refuse to spend time studying the Word of God — because we are too lazy, or too busy, or too tired, or not feeling like it – we may, to an extent, deny the power of God and show our human pride.
The antithesis of this is found in the letter of James.
Again, using the Authorized Version, James 1:21 states: “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.”
Let us notice that it is with meekness – that attribute that we need to make it into the Kingdom of God (Matthew 5:5) – that we need to be spending time studying. WHY? To enable us to use the Word in our lives. In Romans, chapter 11, the Apostle Paul shows how and why we are grafted into the Family of God. But he also reminds us, as Christ also did (John 15:2) that just because we are grafted into the God Family doesn’t mean that we cannot lose out on bearing fruits. We should understand that reading the Bible and studying it is an integral part of our Christianity; it is not merely a nice idea or a “maybe I’ll get to that later.” NO! It is a need. It is one of the lifelines to God.
When we study, we are showing God that we care about His words. And as we read previously – these words are “ALIVE and ACTIVE”. In Isaiah 55:11, in the New International Version, we read that God continues to lead us through His omnipotent Word: “… so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
That is the God we worship. That is the God with whom we are to have a relationship! This is the remembrance we need to bring forth into our lives so that we not only make time to study, but that we come to desire that study time — to desire to be in the presence of God and to really understand His power and what it can accomplish in our lives.
We each have an opportunity and a responsibility in our calling. The way in which we live our study life will have a direct impact on our individual lives, the lives of our families, and the lives of our fellow Christians as we each seek to understand how to grow. To accomplish this, we must be studying and then applying the Word of God diligently.
If you may not know what to study, our Q&As in our weekly Updates would be of great help.
Ephesians 3:14-21 nicely wraps this all together and summarizes it for us in this way: “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
Current Events
by Norbert Link
We begin with scandalous antisemitic events in The Netherlands and across Europe. Please view in this regard our new StandingWatch program, titled, “Why Riots Against Jews in Amsterdam?”
We continue with Iran’s plan to assassinate Trump, as well as other developments pertaining to the newly elected President.
Please view in this regard our recent StandingWatch program, titled, “Trump Won… Now What’s Next?”
We address the situation in Germany and we publish articles asking the question whether voting is irrelevant and meaningless, and whether anything of substance will change in America.
We speak on abominable plans, during the Corona paranoia, to create worldwide quarantine or concentration camps; point out that the UK and the EU are not ready for war; and address the ridiculous situation in Germany in regard to their utterly incompetent government.
Throughout this section, we have underlined pertinent statements in the quoted articles, for the convenience and quick overview of the reader.
This Week in the News
86 Years After Reichskristallnacht
Israel 365 News wrote on November 8:
“Ten Israelis were hospitalized and three are missing after violence broke out after a soccer match between AFC Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday. Israel fans reported being attacked by Arabic-speaking gangs after the game. Some reported being ambushed outside the stadium and at their hotels by violent mobs. Israelis reported being harassed and hunted by the rioters for hours with little effective intervention by local police. Footage on social media showed attackers chasing Israelis, beating them and at times kicking them while on the ground. Eye witnesses said the attacks included car-ramming, stabbing and beatings in several locations around the city including attempts to break into hotels where Israeli fans were staying.
“Local Muslims and Arabs reportedly carried out the attacks. Many of the attackers were masked and some carried Palestinian flags. An estimated 140,000 Muslims reside in the capital where they form around 17 percent of the population. Half of these Muslims are predominantly Arabic and Berber-speaking communities from the Maghreb region, Egypt and the Middle East. Turks make up 25 percent of the Muslim population in Amsterdam…
“The Israeli government said it held Dutch authorities responsible for the safety of its citizens. The Israeli government sent two IDF cargo planes to conduct a rescue mission in coordination with the Dutch government….
“Dutch leader Geert Wilders, whose party is a member of the Netherlands’ government, strongly denounced the attacks, also describing them as a ‘pogrom.’
“Deborah Lipstadt, the US envoy to counter antisemitism, issued a statement denouncing the attacks… ‘In terrible historical irony, this is happening two days before the grim anniversary of Reichspogromnacht in 1938, when Nazi-sanctioned and led pogroms against Jews erupted across the German Reich.’… The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) has called the vicious attacks against Israeli football fans in the streets of Amsterdam last night a new Kristallnacht…”
Wilders was quoted as saying: “Looks like a Jew hunt in the streets of Amsterdam. Arrest and deport the multicultural scum that attacked Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters in our streets. Ashamed that this can happen in The Netherlands. Totally unacceptable. We have become the Gaza of Europe. Muslims with Palestinian flags hunting down Jews. I will NOT accept that. NEVER. The authorities will be held accountable for their failure to protect the Israeli citizens. Never again.”
The city of Amsterdam is home to the Anne Frank House, where Anne Frank and her family hid before being rooted out and murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust.
Jews Provoked Muslims?
NBC News wrote on November 12:
“Early Thursday, [a video] showed a crowd cheering as a man standing on a building’s awning ripped down a Palestinian flag… Video shared on social media… showed Maccabi fans chanting anti-Arab slogans in front of the square’s National Monument…. Within an hour of the match’s ending, security was falling apart.”
That is when the riots against the Jews began.
Riot Planned Well in Advance
The Jerusalem Post wrote on November 10:
“Violent attacks against Maccabi Tel Aviv fans following a soccer match in Amsterdam… were likely to have been a result of a pre-planned attack against Jews organized in a Telegram group, Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reported on Friday. An alleged ‘Jew hunt’ was announced well in advance… prompting rioters to travel from far outside Amsterdam to attack [soccer] fans and Jewish people, De Telegraaf reported. Already on Wednesday nights, Amsterdam’s city center had been the site of similar incidents, the Dutch paper noted… Several taxi drivers were also reported to be involved in the attack on Israelis, as they arrived in central Amsterdam to target groups of Israelis, De Telegraaf stated.”
Anti-Israel Propaganda
The Telegraph added on November 8:
“I think the violence in Amsterdam is grim confirmation that a continent on which it becomes fashionable to view the Jewish nation as the most evil nation is a continent on which it will become acceptable to attack Jews… It has crossed the line, time and again, from criticism of Israel into frothing bigotry against Israelis. From peacenik opposition to Israel’s war on Hamas to an ugly, wild-eyed view of Israel as a uniquely barbarous nation, more wicked and deceitful than all the others. Serious commentators have described Israel as a nation in the grip of ‘genocidal mania’.
“Posters of the Israelis kidnapped on 7 October have been clawed down in virtually every city, because apparently even the innocent citizens of Israel are suspect, ‘problematic’, undeserving of our sympathy. Israeli culture and wares are feverishly boycotted by the pseudo-virtuous of our chattering classes. They meticulously forcefield their entire lives from the output of this most unholy nation like medieval mystics praying to keep the devil at bay. The impression given by this army of ‘pro-Palestine’ influencers is that Israel is a fallen nation. And its people are under the spell of ‘savagery.’ And everything it produces is morally compromised, if not morally poisonous, and thus you must boycott, avoid, destroy.
“That some in Europe have taken this polite-society bigotry one step further and physically attacked the citizens of this supposedly diseased nation is shocking, but not surprising. Israel-hate is a la mode in intellectual circles across Europe. That mob in Amsterdam was its armed wing.”
Are we going to see a repeat of the terrible atrocities against Jews and other minorities perpetrated by the Nazis in WW2? Only that this is now not only a German phenomenon, but a European-wide development?
Radical Anti-Semitism in Amsterdam
Focus wrote on November 8:
“Last night, the Dutch capital Amsterdam became the scene of a frightening attack that should wake up not only Jews but all of Europe…
“The perpetrators filmed their acts of violence and proudly shared the videos on social media – a propaganda tactic also used by terrorist groups such as Hamas to spread fear and reinforce their message of hatred against Jews. This targeted intimidation through violence shows how extremist ideologies are taking root in Europe’s societies and spreading their message across borders. It is an infiltration of our communities that not only threatens Jewish life, but undermines the foundations of our European society… The tolerance of intolerance that has increasingly taken hold in parts of Europe is now coming at a price. Islamist networks and extremist ideologies have managed to establish themselves in our cities and they use every opportunity to spread their anti-democratic and anti-Semitic messages…”
“Europe’s New Shame: Jews Are Only Safe in Hungary”
Report 24 wrote on November 9:
“The fact that Viktor Orbán’s Hungary … has become a safe haven for Jewish athletes and fans is a slap in the face for all those self-proclaimed moralizers who have preached for years with a raised finger in the direction of Budapest. The irony couldn’t be more biting…
“The Dutch capitulation is particularly telling… In Brussels, where people usually never miss an opportunity to teach other countries lessons on human rights, there is suddenly a stunned silence.
“Jews in Europe have to hide again… 70 percent of Belgian Jews are hiding their identity. The situation is similar in many other European countries. Imagine if these statistics affected a different minority – the media outcry would be deafening. But here? Shrugging shoulders, at best…
“The events in Amsterdam mark a new low point. A city that prides itself on its liberal tradition becomes the scene of a hunt for Jews. The perpetrators? Mostly those who have benefited from a decades-long policy of limitless tolerance. The victims? Of all people, they are members of the minority that Europe took up the cause of protecting after the Holocaust.
“Anyone who still talks about ‘individual cases’… is complicit… These are the same circles that shout ‘Never again!’ at every opportunity, and that have made the mass import of anti-Semitism possible through their policy of open borders. They are partly to blame for the current situation, even if they would never admit it.”
Anti-Semitism has never died out in Europe, and it will only become more atrocious in the years ahead.
Second Riot in Amsterdam
The Times of Israel wrote on November 11:
“Police in Amsterdam have arrested several suspects after dozens of rioters clashed with officers and set a tram car on fire. Footage from the scene caught at least one of the participants shouting, ‘Cancer Jews,’ indicating that the violence was an extension of attacks perpetrated by Muslim and Arab rioters against Israeli soccer fans over the weekend… Footage on local TV station AT5 showed many people on the square throwing fireworks, poles and wooden pallets.
“Police urged people to stay away from the square and said riot squads would remain present to restore peace. Police… noted the tense atmosphere since five people were treated in the hospital and dozens detained Thursday following a Maccabi Tel Aviv-Ajax match. Youths on scooters and on foot went in search of Israeli fans, punching and kicking them and then fleeing to evade police, according to Amsterdam’s mayor.”
Fear Is Spreading in Europe
ntv wrote on November 13:
“A week after the attacks on Israeli fans in Amsterdam, security circles are talking before the France-Israel game about the most sensitive match of the year. The authorities are on increased alert. Israel’s National Security Council is issuing a travel warning… Around [6,000] police officers are supposed to ensure the smooth running of the game in Paris on Thursday (8:45 p.m.)…”
As was to be expected, anti-Jewish atrocities were committed in France as well.
Iran Planned to Assassinate Trump
The New York Post wrote on November 8:
“The Iranian government instructed one of its agents to stalk and assassinate former President Donald Trump this past September, according to a bombshell indictment unsealed by Manhattan federal prosecutors Friday. According to the indictment, which charges Iranian Farhad Shakeri and two New Yorkers with murder for hire and conspiracy, an unnamed official in Iran’s notorious Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) instructed Shakeri to ‘focus on surveilling, and, ultimately, assassinating, former President of the United States, Donald J. Trump’ in the final weeks of the 2024 campaign.
“Prosecutors say that when Shakeri noted that the plot would ‘cost a ‘huge’ amount of money,’ the IRGC official said that ‘we have already spent a lot of money … [s]o the money’s not an issue.’ In a phone conversation with an undercover FBI agent, Shakeri said he was instructed by the IRGC on Oct. 7 this year to have a plan in place to kill Trump ‘within seven days.’ Shakeri also inadvertently told the FBI that he had been instructed by Iran to plot a mass shooting targeting Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka — which prompted the US and Israeli governments to issue a travel warning for the island nation on Oct. 23… Shakeri is believed to be in Iran and out of the reach of American justice.”
The two New Yorkers have been retained. Iran has denied the report.
Despicable Conduct by FEMA
The Daily Mail wrote on November 8:
“An official with the Federal Emergency Management Agency ordered relief workers helping those devastated by Hurricane Milton in Florida to bypass homes with Trump signs… employees… skipped over at least 20 houses with signage indicating their support for the President elect due to the guidance passed down by Washington…
“Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has since said he has ordered an investigation into the messages made… ‘At my direction, the Division of Emergency Management is launching an investigation into the federal government’s targeted discrimination of Floridians who support Donald Trump…’
“In October footage resurfaced from a virtual meeting in March of 2023 in which FEMA Emergency Management Specialist Tyler Atkins said the agency was prioritizing LGBTQ people because they are ‘already disadvantaged’… In the past two years, FEMA has reportedly handed out over $1 billion of taxpayer dollars to fund the housing of illegal immigrants. This figure sparked outrage in the wake of Hurricane Helene, with residents in flood-hit North Carolina claiming the response from FEMA has left them disappointed and relying on volunteers. While victims say they have been left scrambling for survival, some critics resurfaced Atkins’ March 2023 remarks as they slammed FEMA’s priorities…”
All of this is SO wrong and SO corrupt! In the meantime, the official was fired.
Boris for Trump
On November 8, Boris Johnson wrote in the Daily Mail:
“… This overwhelming result is, first, a victory for the democratic system. This is no fascist, or dictator in the making. This is a 78-year-old man who had the sheer guts and resilience to get out there, day in, day out, and plug for the votes of the people until he was sometimes exhausted. His Left-wing establishment opponents threw everything at him, including umpteen mainly spurious legal cases, in a shameful and counter-productive attempt to keep him off the ballot. He survived two assassination attempts, one of them very serious.
“He competed for every vote in the country, in what was believed – right up until the votes started to come in from Pennsylvania – to be a total toss-up of an election. He won those 72million votes by prodigious energy and effort, and he won them fair and square. And what has happened since?… the US stock market is surging – of course it is. Investors can see that by deregulation, by cutting waste and taxes, Trump is offering economic hope… Trump has the energy and the decisiveness to find solutions. Take climate change… we can listen to Elon Musk, who is now a key part of the Trump administration, and whose electric vehicles have done more to cut transport emissions that a million speeches by Greta Thunberg.
“… Things have got more dangerous since Trump was last in the White House. We have destabilising wars in Europe and the Middle East, in which far too many are losing their lives. The response of the West has been feeble. Israel faces an existential threat both from Hamas and from Hezbollah, and yet the UK Government – bizarrely – has torn up our historic alliance and support, and placed an arms embargo on Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East. The Biden administration has been a bit better, but hardly full-throated in its support for Israel.
“Remember that Trump secured the Abraham Accords, which offered the immense prize of reconciliation between Israel and its Arab neighbours…
“Things were more stable, and more peaceful, under Trump – because he was willing to be strong… I say, don’t listen to what he says, or the parodies of what he says. Look at what he does. That is why I am confident that, ultimately, he cannot and will not betray the long-suffering and blameless people of Ukraine. The truth is that for the last two years we in the West have been pursuing a policy that is both inadequate and cruel. We have been doing enough to stop Ukraine from losing the war, and from being overwhelmed by Putin. But… we refuse to do what it takes to help the Ukrainians actually win and bring this thing to a close…”
The description of the policy of the West pertaining to Ukraine has been shared by many other observers as well.
Netanyahu for Trump
Israel Today wrote on November 6:
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday morning congratulated Donald Trump after Fox News declared the Republican the victor in the 2024 US presidential election. ‘Dear Donald and Melania Trump, Congratulations on history’s greatest comeback!’ the premier tweeted.
“‘Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America. This is a huge victory! In true friendship, yours, Benjamin and Sara Netanyahu,’ he continued. The post was accompanied by a recent picture of Netanyahu and his wife with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate and resort in Palm Beach, Florida.”
Since then, Trump and Netanyahu have communicated several times, especially in regard to Iran. We have suggested in the past that a possible triumvirate of Trump, Netanyahu and Johnson might work together in the light of biblical prophecy.
At the EPC Summit: The EU vs. Trump
The Independent wrote on November 8:
“Sir Keir Starmer and fellow European leaders have urged Donald Trump to stand up to the ‘bully’ Vladimir Putin as they digest the potential consequences of the historic Republican election victory in the US. Volodymyr Zelensky made a desperate appeal at the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Budapest for leaders to continue their support for Ukraine in its war with Russia amid fears that Mr Trump will try to force a deal involving concessions.
“It came as … Starmer faces increasing pressure to prioritise a new post-Brexit defence pact with the EU, with concerns growing that Mr Trump may also dilute support for Nato and focus US military objectives elsewhere…
“Emmanuel Macron, who has long pushed Europe to build up cooperation on defence, said… ‘We need to be able to defend ourselves… We cannot delegate our security to the Americans forever… The question is whether we are ready to stand up for the interests of Europeans.’”
Hungary Today wrote on November 8:
“At Thursday’s European Political Community (EPC) Summit in Budapest, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said at a press conference following the meeting that there was agreement on the need for peace in Europe as soon as possible, as well as on the necessity to react to the outcome of the U.S. presidential elections… ‘The war that Russia has launched against Ukraine is now in its third year, the Middle East is in flames and threatens to escalate, North Africa is in destabilizing conflict, illegal migration is a persistent challenge and is approaching its previous peak, and the global economy is experiencing a degree of blockage and fragmentation not seen since the Cold War,’ he stressed…
“The Prime Minister said his personal assessment of the situation was that they all felt there was no time to waste. In his assessment, ‘history has clearly accelerated’… and the world will change ‘faster than we think.’… The Hungarian Prime Minister added that ‘we cannot expect’ the Americans ‘to be the only ones to protect us.’..
“On the issue of peace, he said, he was not qualified to take a position on an issue on which there was not complete agreement, adding that there were differences of opinion on the continuation of the war or a rapid ceasefire and peace negotiations. He said that the essence of war was victory or defeat, but that Europeans had gone into the war without clarifying what victory was. ‘If there is no definition of victory, how do you know how long you have to fight?’ he asked. ‘We never clarified: should we take back Crimea? Is Sevastopol a NATO flag? Moscow? What is victory?’ he asked, adding that since the aim was not defined, the war was difficult to stop.”
Trump Could Withdraw US From NATO Without Congress
Newsmax wrote on November 8:
“President-elect Donald Trump could pull the United States out of NATO without the authority of Congress despite legislation passed to prevent him from doing so, Politico reports. Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., sponsored a bill that would require congressional approval for the president to withdraw the U.S. from NATO, a measure that was included in the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act. However, legal experts told Politico that Trump could use presidential authority over foreign policy to ignore that requirement.
“Curtis Bradley, the University of Chicago Law School’s Allen M. Singer distinguished service professor, told Politico that if Trump were to declare the U.S. no longer a part of NATO, it’s unclear if Congress has the legal standing to file a lawsuit. ‘For the issue to be litigated, there would need to be someone with standing to sue,’ Bradley said. ‘The only party I can think of who might have standing would be Congress itself, but it is not clear that the Republicans in Congress (who will at least control the Senate) would support such a suit.’
“The Brookings Institution’s Scott Anderson, senior editor of Lawfare, told the news outlet that the law on the issue is ‘not airtight,’ adding, ‘This is not open and shut…’”
Trump Speaks with Zelensky
Axios wrote on November 8:
“Donald Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday included two surprises: Elon Musk was also on the line, and Zelensky was somewhat reassured by what he heard from the president-elect…
“After Zelensky congratulated Trump, the president-elect said he will support Ukraine, but didn’t go into details… Musk also weighed in during the call to say he will continue supporting Ukraine through his Starlink satellites… Starlink has been crucial to Ukraine’s war effort…
“Much went unsaid, and much remains unknown… Trump told Zelensky he would not abandon Ukraine, but wants to give diplomacy a chance…
“Musk also joined Trump’s call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan…”
Bild Online added on November 8:
“The Wall Street Journal reports that one of the ideas in the Trump environment is that Ukraine should promise not to join NATO for at least 20 years. In return, the USA would continue to supply the country with weapons. The plan also includes a demilitarized zone along the front… It is still unclear who would be stationed there for surveillance – but US troops would not be available for this. A member of the Trump team stated that it would have to be European troops.
‘It is still completely unclear what plans Trump will ultimately pursue. On Thursday, the US President-elect also appeared open to a conversation with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin (72), who made similar comments…”
Trump Has Won ALL Swing States
Deutsche Welle wrote on November 10:
“Trump won Arizona on Saturday, according to the Associated Press, completing a clean sweep of all seven swing states. The Republican, who had secured the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House by early on Wednesday, now has what is expected to be a final total of 312 votes to Vice President Kamala Harris’ 226.
“In addition to Arizona, Trump also won the swing states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Nevada. Republicans have also regained control of the US Senate and look close to clinching control of the US House of Representatives.”
Trump Picks Miller!
Daily Mail wrote on November 11:
“[Trump is] tapping mass deportations architect Stephen Miller for a top White House post… The known ‘border hawk’ and longtime Trump aide [has been] touted as Trump’s chief immigration policy architect… Miller will serve as Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy, a huge position that will shape the administration’s future.”
Deutsche Welle added on November 11:
“Miller… has been key to many of Trump’s previous policy decisions, including a 2018 move that separated thousands of immigrant families as a deterrence program.”
NPR added on November 11:
“Miller is likely to be one of the most controversial picks in a new Trump administration. But because the deputy job is not a cabinet position, he will not need to seek confirmation by the Senate.”
The appointment of far-right and anti-immigration Stephen Miller, is bad news. Miller is known as radical. He has been advocating for the deportation of DACA and against chain migration, even though he is Jewish and, as his uncle put it, he is “well aware of his heritage, [but] has become the architect of immigration policies that repudiate the very foundation of our family’s life in this country.” He also wants to do away with the birthright to be an American citizen when born in this country., and he wants to make it harder for legal immigrants to become American citizens. As mentioned above, he advocated the separation of children from their parents who entered the USA illegally. He is clearly way over the top of any decent and reasonable immigration policy.
In other news, Trump is going to nominated Marco Rubio as Secretary of State; highly controversial Matt Gaetz as Attorney General (replacing Merrick Garland)—“a move that stunned some lawmakers in his own party and repulsed others” (The New York Post, dated November 13), and Mike Huckabee to be U.S. Ambassador to Israel. He also nominated former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe as his CIA director, and Fox News host, Pete Hegseth, as Secretary of Defense. All these nominations must be approved by the Senate. A simple majority of senators present at the time of the vote is necessary to approve the nominee. Trump also appointed Elon Musk (the richest person on earth) and Vivek Ramaswamy to head the newly created Department of Government Efficiency with the goal of dismantling government bureaucracy and “cutting wasteful expenditures.”
Kennedy to Become Health Secretary
Axios wrote on November 14:
“President-elect Trump has asked Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to serve as secretary of health and human services, Trump confirmed on Thursday… Trump’s pick would put one of the nation’s foremost vaccine skeptics in charge of America’s health care agencies…
“Trump posted on Truth Social that HHS under Kennedy would ‘play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming Health Crisis in this Country.’ The position requires Senate confirmation.”
Trump Speaks to Putin
The Guardian wrote on November 10:
“Donald Trump spoke on the phone with Vladimir Putin on Thursday and discussed the war in Ukraine, the Washington Post reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter. The US president-elect advised the Russian president not to escalate the war in Ukraine and reminded him of ‘Washington’s sizeable military presence in Europe”’ the Post reported.
“It added that Trump expressed interest in follow-up conversations on ‘the resolution of Ukraine’s war soon’…. On Friday, the Kremlin said Putin was ready to discuss Ukraine with Trump but that it did not mean that he was willing to alter Moscow’s demands.”
Trump and the Third Temple
Israel 365 News wrote on November 11:
“Rabbi Yosef Berger revealed some amazing aspects of Donald Trump’s victory in the recent US Presidential election, most notably his potential role in building the Third Temple… ‘Trump’s election is a necessary element of the geula (redemption) and a sign that the moshiach (messiah) is imminent,’ Rabbi Berger said… ‘it indicates that he will play a role in preparing the way for the arrival of the Messiah…’
“This connection was so evident in Trump’s connection with Jerusalem that in 2018, the Sanhedrin minted a coin with a profile of Trump superimposed on the image of Persian King Cyrus, who facilitated the building of the Second Temple in Jerusalem that ended the Babylonian Exile in 538 BCE…
“The Persian king is the only non-Jewish leader to be referred to in the Bible as Moshiach, literally ‘His anointed one’… ‘Like Cyrus, God put Donald Trump in power in order to build the Temple and pave the way for moshiach,’ Rabbi Berger said. ‘Like Moses, Trump began as part of the common people, was revealed in his first success entering the White House, but was then hidden… Like Moses, now that Trump has been revealed for the second time, he will fulfill his ultimate function,’ Rabbi Berger said…”
The Miracle of the Third Temple
Middle East Eye wrote on November 14:
“Donald Trump’s choice as the next United States defence secretary [Pete Hegseth] has called for the building of a third Jewish temple on the site of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem… Speaking at an event in Jerusalem in 2018 he said there was ‘no reason why the miracle of re-establishing the temple on the Temple Mount isn’t possible’, using the Israeli name for the raised plateau in occupied East Jerusalem where Al-Aqsa Mosque stands. ‘I don’t how it would happen, you don’t know how it would happen, but I know that it could happen…’
“Far-right Jewish activists want to build a third Jewish temple on the site where Al-Aqsa Mosques structures and courtyards stand today. Some, including Christian Evangelicals, believe this will herald the arrival of the messiah and possibly even the end of the world.”
JNS added on November 14:
“In newly-surfaced remarks from a 2018 conference, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense Pete Hegseth said there was ‘no reason’ a third temple could not be established on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem… He rejected the ‘two-state solution’ to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying, ‘If you walk the ground today, you understand that there is no such thing as the outcome of a two-state solution. There is one state.’”
The USA Could Withdraw NATO Support
Life Site wrote on November 11:
“JD Vance, the Republican Vice President-Elect, has made a bold suggestion that the United States might reconsider its support for NATO if the European Union attempts to regulate U.S. social media platforms…. Vance highlighted the stark contrast between European and American values, particularly on the issue of free speech…
“The Vice President-Elect argues that America’s participation in NATO should be contingent on the alliance’s respect for free speech, a core American value. ‘So what America should be saying is, if NATO wants us to continue supporting them and NATO wants us to continue to be a good participant in this military alliance, why don’t you respect American values and respect free speech?’ Vance questioned. He criticized the notion of supporting a military alliance that does not uphold free speech as ‘insane,’ insisting that American support comes with prerequisites, such as respecting free speech, particularly among European allies.”
Republicans Take the House
Breitbart wrote on November 11:
“Republicans are projected to take control of the House of Representatives, giving the party a trifecta as Republicans also took control of the Senate and the presidency.
“Decision Desk HQ projected that the Republicans had won enough seats for them to take control of the House. Republicans were projected to have secured a 218-209 majority.”
What IF Voting Is Useless?
Judge Andrew P. Napolitano wrote the following on November 7 in the Ron Paul Institute:
“What if no matter how you voted, the elites always got their way?…
“What if democracy as it has come to exist in America today is dangerous to personal freedom?… What if American democracy allows the government to do anything it wants, as long as more people vote for government than vote to reject it?…
“…What if governments were originally established to protect people’s freedoms but always turn into political and imperialist enterprises that seek to expand their power, increase their territory and heighten their control of the population? What if the idea that we need a government to take care of us is a fiction perpetrated to increase the size of government?…
“What if Congress always votes to expand the size of government, increase the government’s debt, keep the government’s secrets and dispatch the military to kill innocents abroad, no matter which party controls it? What if Congress keeps secrets from the people who elected it?…
“What if the deep state — the law enforcement/surveillance/military/arms and drug manufacturers/banking and regulatory structures — remains in place no matter who is in the White House or which political party controls Congress?
“What if the problem with democracy is that the majority thinks it can right any wrong, write any law, tax any event, regulate any behavior, intrude upon any process and acquire any asset it wants? What if the greatest tyrant in history lives among us? What if that tyrant always gets its way, no matter what the laws are or what the Constitution says? What if that tyrant is the majority of voters? What if the majority in a democracy recognizes no limits on its power?
“What if the government misinforms voters so they will justify anything the government wants to do?…
“What if the system is crafted so government power can only grow — and never shrink? What if Congress remains the same no matter who wins elections? What if we have only one political party — the Big Government Party — and it has a Democratic wing and a Republican wing? What if both wings want war and taxes and welfare and debt and perpetual government growth, but offer only slightly different menus on how to achieve them? What if the Big Government Party enacted laws to make it impossible for meaningful political competition to thrive?…”
Yes, what if…?
Will Something Change in America?
John Whitehead wrote the following in the Rutherford Institute wrote on November 4:
“After months of handwringing and mud-slinging and fear-mongering, the votes have finally been cast and the outcome has been decided: the Deep State has won. Despite the billions spent to create the illusion of choice culminating in the reassurance ritual of voting for Donald Trump or Kamala Harris, when it comes to most of the big issues that keep us in bondage to authoritarian overlords, not much will change. Despite all of the work that has been done to persuade us to buy into the fantasy that things will change if we just elect the ‘right’ political savior, the day after a new president is sworn in, it will be business as usual for the unelected bureaucracy that actually runs the government.
“War will continue. Drone killings will continue. Surveillance will continue. Censorship of anyone who criticizes the government will continue. The government’s efforts to label dissidents as extremists and terrorists will continue. Police shootings will continue. SWAT team raids will continue. Highway robbery meted out by government officials will continue. Corrupt government will continue. Profit-driven prisons will continue. And the militarization of the police will continue. These problems have persisted—and in many cases flourished—under both Republican and Democratic administrations in recent years. The outcome of this year’s election changes none of that…
“The undermining of the Constitution will continue unabated. America’s so-called war on terror, which it has relentlessly pursued since 9/11, has chipped away at our freedoms, unraveled our Constitution and transformed our nation into a battlefield, thanks in large part to such subversive legislation as the USA Patriot Act and National Defense Authorization Act. These laws—which completely circumvent the rule of law and the constitutional rights of American citizens, re-orienting our legal landscape in such a way as to ensure that martial law, rather than the rule of law, our U.S. Constitution, becomes the map by which we navigate life in the United States—will continue to be enforced.
“The government’s war on the American people will continue unabated. ‘We the people’ are no longer shielded by the rule of law. While the First Amendment—which gives us a voice—is being muzzled, the Fourth Amendment—which protects us from being bullied, badgered, beaten, broken and spied on by government agents—is being disemboweled. Consequently, you no longer have to be poor, black or guilty to be treated like a criminal in America. All that is required is that you belong to the suspect class—that is, the citizenry—of the American police state. As a de facto member of this so-called criminal class, every U.S. citizen is now guilty until proven innocent. The oppression and injustice—be it in the form of shootings, surveillance, fines, asset forfeiture, prison terms, roadside searches, and so on—will come to all of us…
“The government’s manipulation of national crises in order to expand its powers will continue unabated…
“Endless wars that enrich the military industrial complex will continue unabated. America’s expanding military empire is bleeding the country dry at a rate of more than $93 million an hour (that adds up to $920 billion annually). Incredibly, although the U.S. constitutes only 5% of the world’s population, America [is] spending more on the military than the next 9 biggest spending nations combined.
“Government corruption will continue unabated. The government is not our friend. Nor does it work for ‘we the people.’ Americans instinctively understand this. When asked to name the greatest problem facing the nation, Americans of all political stripes ranked the government as the number one concern. In fact, almost three-quarters of Americans surveyed believe the government is corrupt…
“Government tyranny under the reign of an Imperial President will continue unabated. The Constitution invests the President with very specific, limited powers. In recent years, however, American presidents have anointed themselves with the power to wage war, unilaterally kill Americans, torture prisoners, strip citizens of their rights, arrest and detain citizens indefinitely, carry out warrantless spying on Americans, and erect their own secretive, shadow government…”
Instinctively, many Americans would agree with this assessment, and actually, so does Donald Trump who says that he recognizes at least some of those dangers. But will he be willing or able to change anything substantially? Being part of the system, it is to be questioned.
Planned “Quarantine” Camps Nation- and Worldwide
Jeffrey Tucker wrote in The Brownstone Institute on November 7:
“No matter how bad you think Covid policies were, they were intended to be worse. Consider the vaccine passports alone. Six cities were locked down to include only the vaccinated in public indoor places. They were New York City, Boston, Chicago, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., and Seattle. The plan was to enforce this with a vaccine passport. It broke. Once the news leaked that the shot didn’t stop infection or transmission, the planners lost public support and the scheme collapsed. It was undoubtedly planned to be permanent and nationwide if not worldwide…
“Features of the CDC’s edicts did incredible damage… It decreed the ridiculous ‘six feet of distance’ and mask mandates…
“Even with all that, worse was planned. On July 26, 2020… the CDC issued a plan for establishing nationwide quarantine camps. People were to be isolated, given only food and some cleaning supplies. They would be banned from participating in any religious services. The plan included contingencies for preventing suicide. There were no provisions made for any legal appeals or even the right to legal counsel… The document was only removed on about March 26, 2023… It was called ‘Interim Operational Considerations for Implementing the Shielding Approach to Prevent COVID-19 Infections in Humanitarian Settings.’… this is what used to be concentration camps…
“In four years of research, and encountering truly shocking documents and evidence of what happened in the Covid years, this one certainly ranks up at the top of the list of totalitarian schemes for pathogenic control prior to vaccination. It is quite simply mind-blowing that such a scheme could ever be contemplated.”
What is going to happen when the next “pandemic” hits? The evil and godless minds who wrote the above-mentioned document are still around.
EU and UK Not Ready for War
More Radio wrote on November 10:
“Britain’s annual Remembrance Sunday has a special dimension in 2024 because it was the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings this year… D-Day, when British and American troops fought on to the beaches to liberate Europe, is the defining moment of the UK’s patriotic pride to this day…
“Mr Trump, the US president-elect, has said he feels no obligation to defend European countries who do not spend as much as he thinks they should…
“The recent BRICS summit in Russia and the deployment of North Korean troops to fight with Vladimir Putin’s forces in Ukraine both show their willingness to internationalise local conflicts…
“The US currently has 100,000 troops based in Europe, increased by 20,000 since Mr Putin’s attack in 2022. The next Trump administration will certainly want to reduce that number…
“Mr Trump has said he plans to end the Ukraine conflict in 24 hours. In essence, Mr Putin would keep some of his territorial claims in Donbas and NATO would not extend its security guarantee to what remains of an independent Ukraine. Mr Trump has already said that NATO’s longstanding and vague offer of eventual membership was ‘a mistake’. Anxious not to alienate the US further and hard-pressed financially, some leading European nations including Germany appear ready to go along with such a sell-out.
“A number of security experts, including former acting deputy prime minister Sir David Lidington, say this deal would be ‘Donald Trump’s Munich.’ This is a reference to the ‘peace in our time’ deal agreed by prime minister Neville Chamberlain with Adolf Hitler, which failed to halt further aggression by Nazi Germany before the Second World War… the UK and Europe are not ready for war, and [they are] relying on an increasingly unreliable US…”
Europe knows this [the UK may not], and they will do whatever it takes to “get ready” for war.
“How Ridiculous Does This State Want to Become?”
Bild Online wrote on November 10:
“It was only on Wednesday that the traffic light [the German “Ampel” Coalition] declared political bankruptcy because it was unable to solve the country’s problems. But in the following 48 hours, Olaf Scholz, Robert Habeck and Christian Lindner announced their claim to continue to govern Germany in the future… Scholz, Habeck and Lindner represent the most unpopular federal government of all time. The final result of their coalition is devastating:
“Germany is declining economically; unemployment is rising; there is a housing shortage again in Germany; illegal migration is only now becoming an issue; internal and external security are in poor condition; Putin is currently winning the war against Ukraine…
“The Germans are calling for new elections as quickly as possible so that Germany gets a NEW government!…”
But what kind of government, formed by the “established” parties in Germany, could it currently be? Competent politicians are presently in short supply.
New German Elections in February?
Deutsche Welle wrote on November 13:
“German President Steinmeier… ‘welcomes the fact that the parliamentary groups have agreed on a roadmap towards a vote of confidence’ on December 16″ and ‘considers February 23, 2025, to be a realistic date for new elections,’ his office said in a statement.
“He had also ‘made it clear that in the event that the Bundestag withdraws its confidence in the Chancellor, he will quickly decide on a dissolution.’ According to the Basic Law, the German president has the power to dissolve the Bundestag and call for new elections.”
Origin of the Cries of Fools
Focus wrote on November 8:
“It’s that time again: Many people are celebrating Carnival again, and in some places you can hear the shouts of ‘Alaaf’, in others ‘Helau’…
“We don’t know exactly where the exclamation ‘Helau’ comes from. It is sometimes assumed that there is a connection to the church’s ‘Hallelujah’. An origin in the word ‘bright up’ [“hell auf”] for example in the expression ‘be thrilled’ [“hellauf begeistert”], is also possible. This could also mean ‘bright’, and the fools definitely seem bright. Some also assume that the ‘Helau’ means ‘hell open’. The original aim of the carnival was to drive away winter and evil spirits. People used to believe that evil spirits could threaten crops. With the exclamation they wanted to banish them back to hell.
“However, the meaning and origin of the word ‘Alaaf’ can be traced back better. ‘Alaaf’ most likely comes from the Cologne ‘all af’, which means ‘above everything’ or ‘everything else away’. The fool’s cry ‘Kölle alaaf’ means nothing other than ‘Köln über alles’. The writing was found on drinking mugs from the 16th century: ‘Alaaf fur ein goden druinck’, which means something like: ‘There’s nothing like a good drink’. This saying was not a fool’s cry back then, but these toasts were most likely widespread in the Cologne area at the time…”
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.
How can Satan and his demons appear to You?
We take it for granted that you know that Satan and his demons exist. It is not the purpose of this Q&A to address that fact; we have written and spoken many times about this.
As this year’s Halloween is behind us—a feast dedicated to the forces of evil—we are moving towards the holiday of Christmas by the end of 2024 and New Year’s Day and the holiday of Easter in 2025. All these days have one thing in common: They are all connected with evil spirits. It was believed that during these days the “underworld” or “Otherworld” gave up their “dead” who walked around among the living as “ghosts” or “spirits.” Since dead people do not live in an “underworld,” those spirits were demons. They had to be appeased with gifts or frightened with noise.
But how did those “spirits” appear? Did they show up as men or women? The answer is clearly no, nor do they appear that way to men today.
Let us take the White House as an example. It has been reported and known for a long time that the White House is “haunted.” In fact, the evidence for this truth is overwhelming. But the “ghosts” in the White House did and do not appear as human beings. Note how the reports describe their presence.
“Roll Call” wrote on June 6, 2012, that [Nancy] “Pelosi… recounted an unusual anecdote about how the ghosts of past women leaders spoke to her at her first White House meeting as Speaker… in 2006… ‘I realized that on that chair with me was Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Alice Hall, Lucretia Mott, you name it, they were all there… And I could hear them say “at last we have a seat at the table,”’ Pelosi said.”
The “Wikipedia Encyclopedia” writes: “There have been several stories about ghosts of former Presidents revisiting the White House. However, the most common and popular is that of Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln’s Ghost, or to others as The White House Ghost, is said to have haunted the White House since his death.”
The website of haunted-places.com states: “The White House has a reputation for being one of the most haunted homes in America. President Harry Truman said the place was haunted ‘sure as shooting.’ Kennedy’s Press Secretary James Haggerty admitted to sensing the presence of Lincoln’s ghost in the White House, and Clinton’s Press Secretary Mike McCurry admitted he was a believer… Hillary Rodham Clinton said: ‘There is something about the house at night that you just feel like you are summoning up the spirits of all the people who have lived there and worked there and walked through the halls there.’…
“There have been many séances in the White House, but the majority occurred during the administration of Abraham Lincoln. While living in the White House, he and his wife held several séances in the Green Room in an attempt to contact the spirit of their son, Willie, who died there… In his book The Choice, Bob Woodward of Watergate fame describes how in 1995, a séance was held by psychic Jean Houston in the White House solarium, during which Hillary sank into a trance and channeled the spirits of Eleanor Roosevelt and Mahatma Gandhi…
“Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands was a guest of the White House when she heard a knock on her bedroom door in the middle of the night. When she answered it, Lincoln stood before her with his famous top hat and all. The Queen fainted, and when she came [to], he was gone. Britain’s Winston Churchill refused to sleep there after sighting President Abraham Lincoln’s ghost lurking about… in the Lincoln Bedroom… He couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw Abraham Lincoln standing by the fireplace in the room, leaning on the mantle. The two men looked each other in the face… as Lincoln’s apparition slowly faded away.
“Theodore Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover, Margaret Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Jacqueline Kennedy, Ladybird Johnson [wife of Lyndon Johnson], Susan Ford [Gerald Ford’s daughter], and Maureen Reagan [Ronald Reagan’s daughter] have all admitted sensing the presence of the Civil War president in the White House… Maureen and her husband, Dennis Revell, both saw Lincoln’s transparent form next to the bedroom’s fireplace.”
On July 9, 2009, “Weekly World News” reported this:
“Just as Bill Clinton did before him, President Barack Obama is now getting help in the White House – from Abraham Lincoln’s ghost! A government insider has revealed that Honest Abe’s apparition has been seen in the Oval Office on several occasions, quietly conferring with the President on vital world issues!… In a 1993 issue, Weekly World News stunned the world with its exclusive story that the Great Emancipator was helping President Clinton guide America’s ship of state through troubled waters…”
History.com adds:
“The most famous address in America–1600 Pennsylvania Avenue–is also perhaps the country’s most famous haunted house. Presidents, first ladies, White House staff members and guests have reported feeling ghostly presences, hearing unexplained noises and even running into actual apparitions–even on the way out of the bathtub, in one particularly famous case [that of Winston Churchill].”
The Daily Mail wrote on November 5, 2009:
“The daughter of former President George W. Bush… Jenna Bush Hager told chat show host Jay Leno she had been terrified by spooky events near the fireplace in her bedroom [in the White House]… [She] said: ‘I heard a ghost. I was asleep, there was a fireplace in my room and all of a sudden I heard 1920’s music coming out. I could feel it, I freaked out and ran into my sister’s room. She was like “Please go back to sleep this is ridiculous.”
“The next week we were both asleep in my room, the phone had rang and woke us up. We were talking and going back to bed when all of a sudden we heard this opera, coming out of the fireplace. We couldn’t believe it, we both jumped in bed and were asking the people that worked there the next morning “Are we crazy?” We tried to rationalise it, but they said they heard it there all the time.’…”
In the “Haunted White House,” the following is stated:
“There were no reports of Lincoln’s ghost during the Bush administration and both the President and Mrs. Bush denied seeing Lincoln or any other ghost in the White House. However, during the Clinton years, there [was] at least [one sighting] of Lincoln’s apparition. One encounter was admitted by President Clinton’s brother, Roger, who stated that he had sensed Lincoln’s presence in the White House…
“President Harry Truman had no idea why Lincoln’s ghost was still present in the White House. In her biography about the president, Margaret Truman stated that her father certainly had no ambitions to haunt the White House himself. ‘No man in his right mind would want to come here of his own accord,’ he said.”
The Huffington Post wrote on December 31, 2013, at first quoting President Reagan:
“The President laughed and said, ‘I might as well tell you the rest. A member of our family [he meant his daughter Maureen] and her husband always stay in the Lincoln Bedroom when they visit the White House. Some time ago the husband woke up and saw a transparent figure standing at the bedroom window looking out. Then it turned and disappeared. His wife teased him mercilessly about it for a month. Then, when they were here recently, she woke up one morning and saw the same figure standing at the window looking out. She could see the trees right through it. Again it turned and disappeared.’…”
Elections Daily, Hauntings at the White House, wrote on October 29, 2024:
“The living residents have also had interest in the supernatural. Mary Lincoln famously held séances in order to contact her late son Willie, something Jane Pierce did just over a decade earlier. Edith Wilson and Florence Harding consulted with a medium, who apparently successfully predicted President Harding’s early death. Nancy Reagan famously used an astrologer to protect her husband.”
On November 4, 2024, Express USA wrote:
“US election could put Donald Trump back in ‘haunted’ White House with ‘dead presidents’. With the US election taking place, the world will be watching to see if Donald Trump will be voted back into the haunted White House.”
Many times, we read about the “APPARITION” of Lincoln or other dead people. Many times, people “felt” the presence of these “ghosts” or “heard” them, and when they “saw” them in a “transparent form” or as a “transparent figure” and you could “see the trees right through it.” They then suddenly or slowly disappeared. “Apparition” is defined as “a ghostlike image of a person”; a “ghostly appearing figure”; or the presence of a shadow.” It has also been described as something “that you imagine you can see”; and as “something that appears, but may not be otherwise real.” It can also refer to a “delusion,” an “hallucination” or a “phantasm.”
The meaning of the word “phantasm” is also very interesting, which can also be described as “deceptive appearance”; “mirage”; “shadow”; “fantasy”; “a figment of the imagination”; or “an illusion”; as well as “something that only appears to exist. It’s not real but an illusion or brief hallucination.”
We will see later the biblical application of these words (“apparition” and “phantasm”).
We also read that some were foolish enough to hold seances or attempted in other ways to get in contact with those “ghosts.” But this is not always the case. In some instances, according to the reports, there were no prior attempts to encounter any of these “ghosts.”
The attempts to communicate with ghosts or the dead seem to be as old as mankind. Ancient Israel was specifically warned not to try to engage in such practices. We read in Leviticus 19:31 (Authorized Version): “Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them…” So it is possible, although prohibited by God, to seek after “familiar spirits.” But are those “familiar spirits” the departed spirits or souls of dead people, as some claim?… Leviticus 20:6 and 27 tell us, “And the person who turns after mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person…A man or a woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be put to death.”
Though many people don’t believe in the existence of Satan and demons, they are quick to dabble in the occult, being ignorant of the danger therein. Demons are called “familiar spirits” because they want to familiarize themselves with man Haunted houses, poltergeists, séances, communication with the dead, and contact with “aliens” are all clearly of demonic origin. Once we have made “contact” with demons, it is difficult to get rid of them (compare Luke 11:24–26).
Acts 16:16–19 gives us a clue who or what those familiar spirits are: “Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, ‘These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.’ And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, ‘I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.’ And he came out that very hour.”
This spirit of divination was a familiar spirit—a demon. It was not a departed soul. We also learn that the demon told the truth—Paul and his companions were in fact servants of God, preaching the way of salvation. Likewise, demons proclaimed that Christ was the Son of God. But they spoke to annoy God’s people and to detract from the message, and to confuse the masses. Demons don’t always lie, but they always want to thwart God’s plans and purposes.
We read in 1 Samuel 28 that Saul consulted a woman who was a medium. The Authorized Version describes her as a woman “with a familiar spirit” (verse 7). In the Hebrew, it says literally that she was “the possessor of a spirit,” in other words, of a demon. In other words, Saul consulted a witch possessed with a demon. This witch was asked by Saul to bring up Samuel. We read in Verse 12, “When the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice.” The following passage tells us that Saul saw nothing. He asked the woman in verse 13, “What did you see?” Notice her answer (same verse): “I saw a spirit ascending out of the earth.” When she described the form of that spirit as one of an old man, we are told that “Saul perceived that it [was] Samuel.” (Verse 14). The word “was” is not in the original. So one could add “pretended to be,” “appeared to be,” “claimed to be,” etc.
Some claim the witch actually brought back Samuel—or his spirit—from the grave. The Ryrie Study Bible comments, “On this occasion God miraculously permitted the actual spirit of Samuel to speak and announce Saul’s imminent death.” But is this true?
Notice that Saul did not see the “spirit” or “ghost” or “soul” of Samuel at all. Samuel had died and had been dead for a while (cp. 1 Samuel 25:1). God did not answer Saul in dreams or by the prophets (1 Samuel 28:6)—and Samuel was a prophet (Acts 13:20; 1 Samuel 3:20). When the “old man” appeared and answered Saul, that could not have been Samuel or his spirit or departed soul—otherwise, Samuel would have answered Saul in the capacity of a prophet of God. We also read in 1 Chronicles 10:13–14, that this seance was not of God—rather, Saul was killed by God because of conducting it. Saul died “for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it; And inquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him.”
We read that “Samuel” answered Saul and told him that Saul would die the next day. The real Samuel, dead and in the grave, could not have known that. The dead “know nothing.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5). But Satan and demons do sometimes know God’s plan and purpose (cp. 1 Kings 22:19–23; the “lying spirit” was a demon; notice also Revelation 12:12; James 2:19). So it is clear that the demon, the familiar spirit, pretended to be Samuel, and spoke as Samuel to the witch.
We see, then, that, apparently, the very demon that possessed the witch, appeared to her—not to Saul!—in the form of Samuel, convincing the witch, and through the witch, Saul, that he was in fact Samuel. The true Samuel, however, as a prophet and servant of God, would have never spoken to Saul through a witch, especially after God had refused to talk to Saul. And God would not have supernaturally brought Samuel—or his soul or his spirit—back to life, to allow him to speak to Saul through a witch—after God had refused to speak to Saul directly.
The Bible does not tell us what exactly the woman, in her trance, actually saw. But based on all the other reports, she might have seen an apparition—a shadowy figure—which she described to Saul. Saul, based on the description, concluded that it was Samuel. And then, it appears that the demon spoke through the woman, but maybe, Saul heard the actual voice of that demon. Notice Isaiah 29:4 (Authorized Version): “…thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground.” This is a reference to the voice of a demon, a familiar spirit that has possessed the medium. It may appear as if the medium speaks, but it is, in fact, the demon within the medium that does the speaking. That is why Paul, in Acts 16:16–19, spoke to the familiar spirit or demon of the possessed slave girl—and not to the slave girl herself.
Another description of an apparition can be found in the Book of Job.
We read in Job 4:12–16 about Eliphaz’s encounter with a spirit: “Now a word was secretly brought to me, And my ear received a whisper of it. In disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, When deep sleep falls on men, Fear came upon me, and trembling, Which made all my bones shake. Then a spirit passed before my face; The hair on my body stood up. It stood still, But I could not discern its appearance. A form was before my eyes; There was silence; then I heard a voice…”
Eliphaz saw some kind of a form before his eyes but he could not discern the appearance of the spirit. This indicates that it was a demon, who cannot appear as a person (see discussion below), as the Bible does not show that God’s angels appear to man in such a way. It was something like an apparition—a phantasm. The Living Bible translates: “I felt the spirit’s presence, but couldn’t see it standing there.” This reminds us of the description of the “ghosts” in the White House.
At the same time, we need to emphasize that Eliphaz was not asleep. He was quite awake and had “disquieting thoughts.” The encounter with the demon happened at night, when deep sleep falls on (other) men. The demon’s message, communicated to Eliphaz, was partially true (see verse 17), but it was taken out of context, and Eliphaz passed it on to Job, perhaps not even realizing himself that this was meant to destroy Job’s faith. But the demon knew exactly what he was doing.
The concept that the souls or spirits of dead people can be contacted is demonic. Isaiah 8:19 tells us, “And when they say to you, ‘Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,’ should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living?” The Authorized Version states for “who are mediums”: ”…that have familiar spirits.” To consult mediums (those possessed with demons or familiar spirits) and God is incompatible. Also, Isaiah is not saying here that the spirits of the dead can be consulted. He is asking, “Should anyone try to seek the dead?”
Notice Deuteronomy 18:10–11 (Authorized Version): “There shall not be found among you any one that… useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.” A “necromancer” is somebody who “consults with the dead, or with a spirit to answer questions.” Note, how the New American Bible brings this phrase, “…one who consults ghosts and spirits or seeks oracles from the dead.” This phrase does not say that communication with the dead is possible—it tells us, though, not to try it, as this will bring us in contact with demons.
We should not allow ourselves to be fooled by strange events, stemming from the occult, which may be “entertaining,” “interesting” or “appealing to our senses.” The safest course of action is NEVER to want to get involved with spirits or ghosts (in reality, with demons) in any way. This would include, staying away from alleged haunted houses, participating in séances, consulting mediums, listening to demonic messages or showing interest in and curiosity for demonic activities, becoming hypnotized or engaged in obscure far eastern meditation practices. Even the viewing of certain scary movies with ghosts and demons could lead to undesired results. The same is true for participation in wrong and ungodly religious practices. Paul warns us not to come in contact with demons in any way (1 Corinthians 10:14-22). Those who worship idols and pagan gods are really worshiping and sacrificing to demons (Compare Deuteronomy 32:16-17). Whenever we give ourselves “over” to another influence, we have become victims of the powers of darkness.
It appears from Scripture that demons cannot materialize themselves the way that Christ or angels can. Demons cannot appear as men. They can, however, create an illusion, or an apparition that might look very real to people. Examples of those illusions would include, as we have discussed, the appearance of “ghosts,” or of a “lady,” claiming to be “Mother Mary.”
We find the following interesting record in Mark 6:47–50: “Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land. Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night [from 3 to 6 a.m.] He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost [Authorized Version: a spirit], and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled [or terrified]. And immediately He talked with them and said to them, ‘Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.’”
The disciples thought they saw a ghost or a spirit, that is, a demon. The Greek word for “ghost” is “phantasma,” which has the meaning of “phantasm” or “apparition.” (Compare above our discussion of the meaning of these words.)
In Luke 24:36–42, we find another passage that sheds some light on the inability of demons to materialize themselves. We read: “Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, ‘Peace to you.’ But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. And He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.’ When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, ‘Have you any food here?’ So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. And He took it and ate in their presence.”
Christ manifested Himself to the disciples as a being with flesh and bones. He even ate food in their presence to convince the disciples that it was He, not an evil spirit or a demon. The Greek word for “spirit” is “pneuma” and can refer to demons (compare Matthew 8:16; 10:1; 12:43, 45; Luke 4:33, 36; 6:18; 7:21, etc.). We understand, of course, that Christ is not a being with flesh and bones. Rather, at His resurrection, His physical body was changed into a body composed of spirit. He became a life-giving Spirit (1 Corinthians 15:44–45). He was able to manifest Himself, however, as a person with flesh and bones. Angels can manifest themselves as human beings as well. Demons cannot. Christ used this opportunity to show His disciples that He was not an evil spirit or a demon, because demons cannot manifest themselves as human beings with flesh and bones.
It is also important to take note of the following observation: If you are not an ordained minister, don’t try to exorcize a demon (compare again Acts 19:13-16). Don’t speak to him. Pray to the Father in the name of Christ to free you from his influence, but don’t engage in conversation with him. Ephesians 4:27 tells us: “Don’t give place to the devil.”
This would include, not showing interest in their activities. It was reported that at one time, a student at a Christian college observed that his toothbrush which he had laid down on the sink began to levitate until it rested again on the sink. The student foolishly said: “Again.” And so it happened again. He had responded to demonic activity.
The admonition and command is clear. Don’t get involved with the demonic world, with spirits or ghosts, and when you are in any way confronted with spooky experiences, shadowy figures, strange feelings or even “voice” messages, we are told in James 4:7 to RESIST Satan and his demons (by praying to God the Father to free you from their influence), and they will flee from you.
Lead Writer: Norbert Link
Preaching the Gospel and Feeding the Flock
compiled by Dave Harris
“Why Riots Against Jews in Amsterdam?” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is the summary:
86 years after the “Reichskristallnacht” (the “Night of Broken Glass”), when Nazis led pogroms against Jews across the German Reich, terrible atrocities against Jewish soccer fans occurred in Amsterdam, the capital of The Netherlands. These violent antisemitic attacks were apparently planned well in advance and they were carried out by a mob of local Muslims and Arabs. How could something like this happen? Who is to be blamed? Have Amsterdam and the rest of Europe become unsafe again for the Jewish people?
“Warum die Gewalt gegen Juden in Amsterdam?” is the title of a new AufPostenStehen program, presented by Norbert Link. This program covers the topic described above.
“Wie können Ihnen Dämonen erscheinen?” is the title of this coming Sabbath’s sermon, presented by Norbert Link. Title in English: “How Can Demons Appear to You?”
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“Eine zerstreute Welt,” last Sabbath’s first split sermon presented by Robert Indlekofer, is now posted. Title in English: “A Scattered World”.
“Ist Neugierde Sünde?” last Sabbath’s second split sermon presented by Norbert Link, is now posted. Title in English: “Is Curiosity a Sin?”
“Turn the Cheek,” last Sabbath’s sermonette presented by Frank Bruno, is now posted. Here is the summary:
Nearly everywhere we turn these days we see people claiming to be offended by colleagues, school mates, family, friends and even the brethren. Despite the ease of taking offense, true Christians understand the need to rely on God for the strength to turn the other cheek and avoid escalation. In this Sermonette we will consider various scriptures and examples of what true Christians must do in order to obey God and not the world.
“God is Angry,” last Sabbath’s sermon presented by Eric Rank, is now posted. Here is the summary:
If there are so many people in the world who are doing good things to help their communities demonstrating love for one another, could God really be angry enough to unleash His wrath upon the Earth as a punishment? What is it that makes God angry, and what can we do to appeal to His mercy as the Day of the Lord approaches?
