666: europe & the roman connection • babylon the great

Vol. 18. Issue No. 4. October 2005

• 666: EUROPE & THE ROMAN CONNECTION• BABYLON THE GREAT

• COUNTDOWN TO ARMAGEDDON

THETHE BIBLE MAGAZINETHE BIBLE MAGAZINEOctober 2005 Vol. 18. Issue No.4.

Editorial & Subscriptions

A WITNESS OF BIBLE TRUTH FOR OUR TIMES

Cover Theme

Prophecy FulfillingLOCAL INFORMATION

“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”— John 17:17.

Analysis

PAGE 3. John Thomas exhorts his readers in 1860 with words that are relevant to us today.

Editorial

PAGE 8. The Household of Faith under Human Management today is a test of that faith.

PAGE 27. Frank Abel asks the age-old question: What is Truth? Does it matter to us?

Archeology & HistoryPAGE 30. Ken Loveridge writes about Royal seals from the times of King Hezekiah.

PAGE 22. John King looks at the rise of anti-Semitism in an article from The Lampstand.

Prophecy DaysBACK PAGE. If you just cannot bear evolutionary myths, visit our back page!

The Struggle for World Dominion has to be seen on two levels:the ideological and religious level, and the political level. Both levels have to cooperatein order to achieve the ultimate objective. Behind the smiles of world leaders a ruthlessand fierce battle is being waged. It is the Bible that tells us the outcome, often by wayof symbolic representation. Four articles in this issue look at different aspects, some ofwhich are reflected in the above graphic. Prophecy is fulfilling!

PAGE 12. John Ramsden visits the European Union, finding a connection with Rome and 666!

PAGE 24. An article by the late Graham Pearce brings together several Scriptures showing howa “Babylon the Great” will dominate the world prior to Armageddon.

PAGE 4. Don Pearce traces current events in Milestones Update which connect with Ezekiel 38.

PAGE 16. Paul Billington reviews the ongoing battle over the Middle East between the Islamicworld, the Anglo-American nations, the Eurasian world & the Vatican. All play their part in thecountdown to Armageddon.

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THE BIBLE MAGAZINE VOL. 18 ISSUE No. 4 Page 3

EAR FRIENDS:—The character we are required to form, that wemay realize the “one hope of our calling,” must be inspirited by the

truth; that is, the law of the Lord must dwell in us, with the courageousdetermination to obey it, or live in conformity to it, and to contendearnestly for it, at all hazards. God must be in all our thoughts; and ouractions must be shaped with a view to his approbation alone. How willthis or that be approved by our Father in Heaven, and not what will thepeople or their leaders say, should be the only question permitted tostand up between our conceptions and the practice of them. In short,“the grace of God that bringeth salvation,” teaches us, “that denyingungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, andgodly, in the present world: looking for that blessed hope, even theglorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; whogave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity andpurify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of goodworks;”—it charges “them that are rich in this world, thatthey be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, butin the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;that they do good, that they be rich in good works, readyto distribute, willing to communicate, laying up in storefor themselves a good foundation against the time tocome, that they may lay hold on Eternal life.” Such are thethings which constitute the character of the man, whosereligion is pure and undefiled, and who will be acceptedwhen the Day Star shall illume the world.DEAR FRIENDS:—When the ancients had obeyed theGospel, they did not insulate themselves; on the contrary,attracted to a common centre by the love of the truth, theyassociated themselves together into communities, thatthey might continue in all the things enjoined upon themby the Apostles. They met together every first day of theweek, termed the Lord’s day, because he rose from thedead upon that day. Being assembled, they sang his praise,celebrated his death, supplicated his favour, exhorted oneanother to love good works, and a patient continuance in well-doing;they searched the Scripture, and in proportion to the strength of theiraffection for the common truth, so they were knit and compactedtogether in the bonds of love and brotherhood in Christ. Their hope wasone. They earnestly desired the appearing of Jesus Christ, because theyexpected then to be raised from the dead; or, if alive at his coming, tobe transformed into the similitude of his glory. Their love was perfect;and they loved one another in the ratio of their love to God, who firstloved them; there was no fear in their love, “for perfect love casteth outfear;” and, unlike the worldly-minded and false-hearted religionists ofthis Laodicean age, as they conceived in their hearts, so with theirtongues did they the truth express. In those days of primitive simplicityin the faith, they did not worship God by a proxy, whom they hired atso much per annum to preach the traditions of men; nor did theymasquerade, or “trip it on the light fantastic toe,” like an opera dancer;but they walked as becometh saints, ennobled by the truth, and destinedfor the good society of the Messiah’s age.DEAR FRIENDS:—In the Scripture of truth, God has set out our destinybefore us in the most intelligible terms. He pronounces us sinners bynature and practice; and because sinners, corruptible and mortal “inbody, soul and spirit, the whole person;” as it is written, the wages ofsin is death. This life is probationary. We are placed here to proveourselves worthy of the destiny we may choose. “The gracious gift ofGod is Eternal Life through Jesus Christ the Lord.” Which will you?Life and Death are set before you; will you strike for freedom from thelaw of sin; or choose ye rather to fret out the “few and evil days,” whichremain to you as the bond slaves of this perishing state, and “dieaccursed?” God invites you to reconciliation, “come unto me,” saysJesus, “all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”Have you no ambition beyond the mean and grovelling aspirations of

WRITTEN OVER 100 YEARS AGO:

JOHN THOMAS TO HIS READERS IN 1860this animal life? Are the glories of personal decoration with silks andvelvets, and gold, and precious stones, etc. the choicest brilliants afterwhich you sigh? Is the honour which comes from vain, and foolishman, corruptible and defiled in all his parts, your highest aspiration? Isthe immortality of fame with future generations, the most renowned forwhich you long? Fellow mortals! Of what value are baubles, such asthese, to tenants of the tomb? Are the particles of dust which oncerejoiced in the glory and renown of a Nebuchadnezzar, a Cyrus, anAlexander, a Caesar, or a Napoleon, more happy or estimable thanthose of a Lazarus? All these things perished in the using, and now areequally valueless to all; both of high and low degree.DEAR FRIENDS:—Being destitute of all true riches and good things bynature, our Benevolent Creator has offered us “glory, honour,incorruptibility, and Eternal Life,” with an “inheritance which is

incorruptible, undefiled, and that shall never fade away.”He invites us in the Gospel to become heirs of thesethings; and, by our future conduct, to prove ourselvesworthy to possess them. Would you not be arrayed insplendour which will excel the glory of the Sun? Wouldyou not be exalted to the dignity of “associate kings,” withthe glorious monarch of the Future Age? Would you not beinvested with an incorruptible life, that you may eternallyenjoy “the inheritance in the light” which is to be revealedat the appearing of the “bright and morning star?” Let,then, the dispositions of the ancient Christians be revivedin us, their descendants; and let us forsake ourdisobedience, and return to the wisdom of just persons;and thus the Truth will make of us “a people prepared forthe Lord.”DEAR FRIENDS:—Forget the things which are behind, andpress forward to the things which are before. Though youmay belong to the straitest sect of popular religion, and inall good fame with its officials, “come out from it” andobey the Gospel for remission of sins, and a right to the

promised kingdom. Romanism and Protestantism are forms only of“the Apostasy” from original Christianity. There is but one true andgenuine religion; all others are counterfeits. You can only be“accounted worthy” to attain to the resurrection of the just, by a rightand title derived from that religion. The Old and New Testaments arethe only documents in which it is found pure and undefiled by thetraditions of men. If you would become Mohammedans, you wouldstudy the Koran, that you might learn in what Mohammedanismconsisted; even so, if you would become Christians, you must study thereligion of the Christian Scriptures in these oracles, which alonecontain it. The motive, then, presented to you, by which you may beinduced to “count all things but loss,” is the excellency of the things tobe brought to you at the coming of the Lord. If you invest yourselveswith the wedding garment, in the way the Scriptures direct, and wehave endeavoured to point it out in this well-intentioned address, youwill be honoured to “sit down with Abraham,” the Prophets, Jesus andhis Apostles, “in the Kingdom of God;” but, if the cares of this worldand the deceitfulness of riches should unhappily lead you to put awaythese things form you, and to judge yourselves unworthy of EternalLife,” there is but one thing for you; as it is written, “the Lord Jesusshall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire;taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not thegospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall be punished with everlastingdestruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of hispower, when He shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to beadmired by all them that believe;” 2 Thess. 1:8. But that it may be yourpart to eschew the evil coming upon the world, and to lay hold on thehope set before you in the gospel, is the sincere and humble prayer ofyours, in all philanthropy and benevolence, JOHN THOMAS

Herald of the Kingdom 1860

John Thomas

D

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MILESTONESUPDATE

By Don Pearce RUGBY, UK.

Like the pieces in a jig-saw puzzle forming thesame picture as on the box, so current eventscombine to give us the scene given by prophecy!

ince the last update there have beenmany small, yet significant steps inbringing together the many prophetic

pieces that will make up the final picture. Longexperience has shown that things can change insurprising ways within quite a short time span!It is therefore always reassuring to step backand look at the general picture and to note withencouragement that our traditionalunderstanding of prophecy has, in the main,been amply justified.

Let’s begin by looking at a few of them.Let’s take the picture painted by Ezekiel in ch38 of the confederacy of nations who comeagainst Israel in the latter-days. Do the placesmentioned justify our longstandinginterpretation? Statistically what are thechances that comparatively far-flung countries,named some 2,500 years ago, are found to befriends of Russia? Gog who heads theconfederacy is named as being of the land ofMagog and prince of Ros, Meschech and Tubal.Associated with him are a list of nations,Persia, Ethiopia, Libya, Gomer and Togarmah(Ez 38:1-6). Gog’s position in relation to theseassociated nations is that of being a “guard untothem” (v 7). This is an important phrasebecause it indicates that Gog is not in theposition of a conqueror of these namedcountries, but is the strong military partner,under whose military might they are willinglyworking. They will have a common cause—theinvasion of Israel!

Persia.This is modern day Iran, the great scourge

of the British and American armies in Iraq. Shefinances terrorism and has many Iranianterrorists working inside Iraq. Britain, Americaand Israel have been pushing for a halt to Iran’snuclear programme. Iran says it is a peaceableprogramme but the West is convincedotherwise. Israel is now within easy reach ofIran’s missiles and is fearful of her obtainingnuclear weapons. The West’s efforts have beenthwarted not only by the evasiveness of Iran’sleaders, but by the actions of Russia. She is thegreat sponsor of Iran. Note the language usedby the diplomatic editor of the Daily Telegraph,

Anton La Guardia (22-9-05).“Russia tells West to step back over Iran A-bomb. Russia put up a defensive wall aroundIran yesterday, saying no action should be takenover moves that western countries fear amountto a covert attempt by Teheran to make anatomic bomb.”

The Iranian president’s visit to Moscowevinced this headline in RIA Novosti (15-9-05).“Russia is counting on continuedstrengthening of relations with Iran. Russiawants to see its relations with Iran continuing toimprove, Russian President Vladimir Putin saidat a meeting with the Iranian president in NewYork Thursday. President MahmoudAhmadinejad said that Iran considered Russiaits closest ally.“Putin said, “Russia and Iran have a long-standing and very close relationship.” Moscowand Tehran have “many joint regional interests,including in the Caspian Sea.” He also saidtrade between the two countries was up 43%last year.“Emerging Geo-Political and Geo-Strategic

Friendship Between Russia and Iran.

Despite U.S. preferences, Russia has enteredinto numerous political, economic, military andcultural agreements with Iran. Russiancooperation with Iran in the fields of nuclearenergy, military weaponry, and trade andcommerce has been roundly criticized by theUnited States. In this instance, Washington hasfailed to change either Iranian or Russianbehavior. Instead, the opposite trend continuesto develop. The more pressure exerted by theUnited States, the closer Russia moves towardIran.” usa.mediamonitors.net (22-8-05)“Russia in a Hurry to Sell Weapons toIran—Paper. Russia is intensifying efforts tosell weapons to Iran while such sales remainlegal amid mounting pressure on the Islamicstate over its controversial nuclear program, thedaily Kommersant said on Monday.“Moscow “has stepped up military-technological cooperation with Tehran,” thebusiness daily said, citing an unidentifiedsource.“It said top officials within Russia’s military-industrial complex decided to concentrate onarms sales to Tehran for two reasons.“‘Firstly, as many weapons as possible must besold to Iran before an international embargoagainst this country comes into force.“Secondly, should the United States decide to

THE NATIONS OF EZEKIEL 38 SUPERIMPOSED ONTO A MAP

Putin receives Iran’s ambassador (Sept)

S

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go to war in Iran, Russia wants Iran to be well-armed to ensure that U.S. forces become atleast as bogged down there as they already arein Iraq, the daily said.” MosNews (26-9-05)

Iran’s hostility toward Israel is intense.Nothing less than Israel’s demise is what herleaders plan.“An Iranian bomb will mean that for the firsttime an enemy country—and Iran is an enemycountry by all definitions—will acquire thecapability to inflict a very heavy blow on Israel.The more so since the formal Iranian position isthat Israel should disappear from the map, thatthe solution of the Palestinian problem shouldbe the establishment of a Palestinian state notalongside Israel but instead of Israel. Evenmore moderate leaders like Khatami saidspecifically: The Jews should go back to theircountries of origin; the State of Israel should bepart of the Palestinian state. No Arabgovernment today holds such a position.”Jerusalem Issue Brief (29-9-05)

Iran money has backed many of theterrorist groups working in the Gaza Stripagainst Israel.

With its oil wealth, Iran is a powerfulnation, but has few friends in the West, hencethe importance to her of Russia’s support. It isinteresting that Persia is listed the first of Gog’sassociates in this chapter. The current situationjustifies this position.

Ethiopia.If we take present day boundaries, this is a

smaller country than Iran—about 38% smallerin terms of area but only about 10% smaller inregard to population. It is however muchpoorer, having been affected by civil war andfamine. In the Soviet era Russia was an ally ofthis country, so it was interesting to discoverthat the links are still there as these headlinesand extracts show.“Russia writes off Ethiopia’s $1.1bn debt.Russia has written off Ethiopia’s $1.1 billiondebt, ostensibly to help Ethiopia in its fightagainst poverty, although I suspect arms salesmay, as is so often the case, be at the root ofRussia's decision: Ethiopia and Eritrea, whohave already fought a brutal war, look to beengaging in another arms race. An arms racewhich according to former Canadian foreignminister Lloyd Axworthy, the UN’s specialenvoy for Ethiopia, is being fuelled by theirresponsible behaviour of a number ofcountries, including Russia:www.siberianlight.net (31–03-05)“A Visit Of Ethiopian Foreign Minister ToMoscow. Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfinarrived in Moscow on January 12. Resumptionof the ranking Russian-Ethiopian contactsfollowing a prolonged break could only meanthat Addis Ababa has obtained funding tofinance arms purchases.“As stated on the eve of the visit, ‘the visit bythe Ethiopian minister is called to promote thefurther development of political interaction

between Russia and Ethiopia, intensification ofco-operation in trade, economic and otherspheres.’” Kommersant (13-1-05)

In the past, Ethiopia would have includedthe territory of modern-day Sudan. Here againwe see evidence of a Russian leaning.“Russia—which has used modest weaponssales, an oil deal, and closer ties with Sudan tobolster a broader presence in African markets...The agreement (to sell arms to Sudan) waspart of a wider Russian strategy begun inNovember 2001 to “reestablish partnershipswith long-standing clients” and “penetrate” thenew African markets, notes a report last yearby Oxford Analytica.” Christian ScienceMonitor (31-8-04)

Libya.Although larger in area, Libya’s population

is very much smaller than Iran’s. The linksbetween Libya and Russia go back to theSoviet days—in fact this September they werecommemorating the 50th anniversary ofdiplomatic relations between the two countries.True, in the past few years she has turned to thewest; however the links with Russia still rundeep.

“Russian companies step up activities inLibya in absence of economic sanctions.“Since the United Nations lifted economicsanctions against Libya in 2003, Russiancompanies have stepped up activities in thecountry. ‘Russian economic operators haveintensified activities on the Libyan market inrecent years, above all on its fuel and energysegment,’ Mikhail Kamynin, Russian foreignministry spokesman, said. ‘A number ofRussian companies have been registered andopened their representations in Libya, takingpart in tenders for prospecting.’” (RIA Novosti03-9-05)“Russia and Libya have a potential forbroader bilateral cooperation. “ForeignMinistry spokesman Mikhail Kamanin said heis ‘optimistic about prospects for politicalcontacts’ between Russia and Libya. Itar tass(3-9-05)

Gomer.This is next on Ezekiel’s list. According to

Josephus these descendants of Japheth can betraced through the Galatians to the area knownas Gaul—corresponding to modern France.France and Germany are good friends ofRussia. They are increasingly turning to Russiaas the military and economic power to replacedependence on America. “Old Europe’s”opposition to American hegemony—dominance—is seen in their friendships withRussia. Following the French No! vote for theConstitution, Putin phoned President Chirac.“Russia’s Putin Calling on Chirac for CloserPartnership Over French No Vote PresidentVladimir Putin and his French counterpart,Jacques Chirac, on Monday reaffirmed theneed for close relations between Russia and theEuropean Union in the wake of the French vote

rejecting an EU Constitution, local mediareported.“In a telephone conversation both leaders‘expressed certainty’ that relations willcontinue to develop, calling a closerpartnership ‘an imperative for both Russia andFrance’ as well as Europe as a whole. MosNews(31-5-05)

Chirac’s political future is uncertain—he is73 in November and has suffered a mild stroke—and whoever follows may not pursue hispolicies; however we know that at the time ofthe end France will be allied to Russia.

Togarmah.The descendants of Togarmah are strongly

associated with Armenia. This country hasstrong links to Russia. The two countries havejust held the tenth joint Russian-Armenianmilitary exercises (RIA Novosti 13-9-05). InFebruary the Russian Foreign Minister Lavrovarrived in Armenia for his first working visit“The Armenian Foreign Minister welcomedMinister Lavrov’s visit to Yerevan, noting thatin the last decade Armenia-Russia relationshave deepened, with strategic cooperationbetween the two based on common interests.Minister Lavrov, too, expressed his satisfactionwith the level of cooperation and the positivedirection of interstate contacts. As evidence, hepointed to the fact that 2005 is the Year ofRussia, in Armenia.”www.armeniaforeignministry.com (17-2-05)

Magog.Gog is described as being of the land of

Magog (v2) according to the RV and manyother translations. In fact in the Hebrew it is ‘ofthe land of the Magog.’ Magog was anotherson of Japheth, and Josephus links them withthe race known to the Greeks as the Scythians.Herodotus the 5th century BC historianmentions that the Scythians were found incentral Asia, from the Danube to the Don.Siculus, a 1st century BC historian says that byBC 100 they had spread to the shores of the

The leaders of Russia, France &Germany pictured together


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Baltic. We associate modern day Germany asthe Magog of today. Certainly there are stronglinks between Russia and Germany. What hasheightened our interest is that the new Pope,Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) and theRussian patriarch Alexei Riediger (PatriarchAlexy II), are ethnic Germans. (RIA Novosti 20-5-05). Alexy was born in Tallinn, the capital ofEstonia; his father was a Baltic German. (Time29-6-96). Another potentially important link isthat the favoured (by Yeltsin at least!) heirapparent to the Romanov throne, Grand DukeGeorgy Mikhailovich Romanov is the son of aGerman prince. President Putin by reason of hisearlier work as a KGB operative in Germanyspeaks the language fluently and takes a deepinterest in German affairs.

One of the economic links between the EUcountries and Russia has been the supply ofenergy. Russia is a major exporter of oil and gas,having vast reserves, many untapped in Siberia.Europe looks to Russia to supply her energy,seeing her as a more reliable partner than theMiddle East countries, whose fuel has to betransported by sea.

The announcement in September that a newpipeline to link Russia with Germany had beenagreed, was therefore significant. (We will lookat the details of this later). To see just how theheadship of this Gogian confederacy will arise,we have to await events. What is significant isthat given the present day economic—andreligious links —between the two countries, thefact that Gog will be of the land of the Magogwill not be totally unexpected.

Rosh, Meshech and Tubal.These are the remaining names to be

considered in this list. Gog means “to beelevated, to rise up,” and is prince of Rosh,Meshech and Tubal (RV and many othertranslations.) Rosh/Ros/Rus is the ancient namefor Russia. Encyclopaedia Britannica (14th ed)says, “the name “Russia” is derived throughRossiya from Slavonic Rus or Ros.” Gesenius,the 18th century German scholar, who was aHebrew specialist, said of Rosh—“a propernoun of a northern nation, undoubtedly theRussians.” The historian Gibbon in his Declineand Fall of the Roman Empire (Vol 7 p. 80)states, “that among the Greeks, the nationalappellation (for the Russians) had a singularRos.”

Meshech and Tubal were also sons ofJapheth. They gave their names to the tribes(Moschi & Tibareni) and areas (Moscovy &River Tubal) which much later gave rise toMoscow and Tobolski. Tobolski is the capital ofthe Siberia region where much of Russia’s oildeposits are found.

It is significant that none of the countriesnamed seem to be descended from Shem, onlyfrom Ham and Japheth. So none of the SemiticArab countries are involved in this gathering ofthe nations.

Britain’s Middle East RoleWe have seen how the nations under Gog are

shaping up. What of those in opposition? Shebaand Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish (verse13)? Britain’s withdrawal from the MiddleEast some 50 years ago was a matter ofdisappointment to Bible students. After a clearrole in driving out the Turk and overseeing thereturn of the Jews to their ancient homeland,Britain’s ignominious withdrawal in 1956 fromEgypt after the Suez crisis marked a low pointin British involvement in the Middle East. Wereour expectations mistaken? Let’s see theremarkable turnaround in recent times.

The Ships & Merchants of TarshishAfter years of decline, the British merchant

fleet is growing again. “The UKhas a great maritime history andtoday boasts the largestmaritime sector in Europe.With a turnover of £37billion—twice the size ofaerospace or agriculture—andemploying more than a quarterof a million people, the sectormakes a massive contributionto the economy.“Over 95% of all Britain’simports and exports go by sea.Fifty million people travel to,from and around the UK byferry each year. The British aretechnological leaders inoffshore oil and gas extraction,and strong in marinemanufacturing. The RoyalNavy is the second strongestnavy in the world and Londonis the world centre for maritimefinancial and legal services.They are world-beaters in yachtdesign, building and racing”(SeaVisionUK).

Britain is increasingly involved in MiddleEast matters. At this year’s Labour PartyConference, the chancellor, Gordon Brown—widely regarded as Mr Blair’s successor—spoke of Britain’s new focus. Earlier at the G8summit in Edinburgh in July the focus was onAfrica—a continent that had many countriesmarked in red on the old British Empire maps.Now his focus was moving to the Middle East.“Brown shifts focus toforeign affairs withtrip to Middle East.Gordon Brown is tofocus on the MiddleEast, examining ways inwhich an economicr e g e n e r a t i o nprogramme for thePalestinians can boostthe prospect of peacewith Israel.” (FinancialTimes 26-9-05).

Britain too hasclose links to Egypt. Sheis the biggest non-Arab

investor in Egypt, second only to Saudi Arabia,and UK exports to Egypt grew by 45% in 2004.

Sheba and Dedan.We link these countries to the states of the

Arabian Peninsula. More and more thesecountries are turning to the West. Britain andAmerica have strong links to many of them. Atone time hostile to Israel, their position issoftening. Bahrain has lifted her economicsanctions against Israel. We report later on therecent friendly talks Israel has had with tenArab and Muslim states.

We can have confidence in ourinterpretation of scripture. It needs patience

and faith, that things will swingin the direction that scripturehas foretold. Let’s now look atsome other matters.

Russia: New Pipelines toBypass U.S. Allies

This was the Stratforheadline to an article (8-9-05)on the latest step that putsGermany closer to Russia andRussia further from America.

Russian President VladimirPutin and German ChancellorGerhard Schroeder finalized anagreement Sept. 8 to build anew gas pipeline underneaththe Baltic Sea—bypassing thecurrent energy network, whichtransits Poland. The plan, alongwith another pipeline project tosupply oil to China, suggeststhat Russia is on the brink ofdisplaying a shift in its attitudetoward the United States andits allies.

Under the agreement withGermany, Russian natural gas companyGazprom will build a pipeline from Russiadirectly to Germany via the Baltic Sea. Russia’sdecision to bypass Poland and the Baltic statesrepresents a political choice. Currently, gastravels along the Yamal-Europe line throughPoland, allowing Poland to collect transit feesof up to 14 billion cubic meters of natural gas.On average, Western European EU states

Britain and the sea: Amaritime revival

RUSSIA’S NORTH EUROPEAN NATURAL GAS PIPELINE


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depend on Russia for about 25 percent of theirnatural gas, whereas Poland depends on Russiafor about 75 percent. This new pipeline wouldallow Russia to suspend its plans on building asecond Yamal line that would cross Poland aswell, denying Poland potential transit fees.This threat gives Russia a strong lever withwhich to push Poland around, should Warsawgo too far with its present anti-Russian stance.For Russia, these pipelines mark a fundamentalshift in its position toward Washington and itsallies, such as Japan and Poland. The UnitedStates and its allies will watch Russia’s nextmove to determine just how far Putin will go tochallenge the West. So far, Moscow haschallenged Washington indirectly, by aidingU.S. rivals or trying to block the initiatives ofU.S. President George W. Bush—such as theIraq war—while maintaining a workingrelationship with the Bush Administration. IfChina, Germany and Russia get these pipelinesbuilt, Moscow will gain stronger economic andgeopolitical footing—which in turn might helpMoscow make a decision it has so far shiedaway from, despite the U.S.-led geopoliticaloffensive into the former Soviet Union: that isthe decision to challenge Washington directly.But since the pipelines’ construction will take afew years, it appears that Moscow, at leastunder Putin, will take its time.

The Gaza withdrawalThe feared scenes of violence did not

materialise. These deeply religious Jews wentwith dignity and the evacuation was overwithin a few days. It brought their strongbeliefs to the attention of their fellow Jews.After years of being tucked out of sight in theGaza Strip, the attention of all Israel, indeed ofthe whole world, was drawn to these people;the majority were deeply Torah-loving Jews. Ina pioneering spirit they had turned barren landsinto fertile fields—some 15% of Israeliproduce was grown in Gaza. Now they havegone, scattered to various parts of Israel. AsRoger Lewis’ article in the last issue showed,Bible prophecy points to the existence of aPalestinian people to the west of Israel in thelatter-days (Isaiah 11:14 etc). So thiswithdrawal was not totally unexpected.

Some 2,800 years ago, when Elijah theprophet despaired of his nation, and fled to MtSinai, God told him that there were 7,000 inIsrael who had not bowed the knee to Baal. (1Kings 19:18). His task was to return and withElisha’s assistance to establish the schools ofthe prophets. Last month we had 8,500 settlersmoved into Israel—though many of them arechildren. Will these not be the nucleus amongwhom Elijah can work on his 2nd mission toIsrael as foretold by Malachi in his 4th chapter?

Where now?In an address by the Israel foreign Minister,

Silvan Shalom, to the UN which was chairedfor the first time in 40 years by an Israelienvoy, he said that these are “optimistic timesin the Middle East.”

“In the foreign minister’s address, heunderlined the warming relations betweenIsrael and the Arab countries, followingmeetings with more than 10 leaders from theArab and Muslim states which were held in thepast week. “These meetings have been openand friendly, as befits meetings betweencountries which have no conflict,” Shalom toldthe world leaders. He stressed the importancefor both parties to create diplomatic contactsbetween Israel and the Arab states. He urgedthe Palestinians to take the necessary steps tocombat terrorism and voiced his strong

opposition to the idea of Hamas joining the PAgovernment.” (BICOM. 21-9-05)

King Abdullah of Jordan is keen that theWest Bank Palestinians should prosper—hedoes not want Hamas on his doorstep! He isdue to visit Israel and the Palestinians shortly.

“Building bridges of confidence betweenthe Palestinians and Israelis and stopping allforms of violence will be the core of themeeting of His Majesty the King with thePalestinian leader and Israeli Prime Minister,the source said, adding the King will affirm onthe importance of supporting the PalestinianNational Authority to enable it to maintaincontrol over all Palestinian territories that Israelhad pulled out from.”www.petra.gov.jo 24-9-05

Edom, Moab and Ammon.Several passages indicate that there will be

latter-day representatives of these countries.Daniel 11:41 is typical.

“He shall enter also into the glorious land,and many countries shall be overthrown:but these shall escape out of his hand, evenEdom, and Moab, and the chief of thechildren of Ammon.”

We note that it singles Ammon out to bedescribed as “the chief of the children” ofAmmon. The capital of Ammon was Rabbah,which means “great” (Strong’s 7237 from7227); it is close to the word “chief” (Strong’s7225), but does not appear to be from exactlythe same root word. Is it indicating that Ammonis more important than the other two? On theground today Jordan occupies the territory ofthese three countries. Jordan’s capital, Amman,is built on the site of ancient Rabbah. Onearticle said that King Abdullah was dividing hiskingdom into 3 administrative areas—north,central and south —in an effort to involve thepeople of these areas in the running of theiraffairs. Although I have not found a mapdefining these three areas, they must roughlycorrespond to the old Ammon, Moab andEdom. There was a denial (30-9-05) that Jordanhad suggested a 4th region—the West Bank.Israel would be happy to have Jordanianinvolvement in the running of the West Bank.The denied rumour may indeed have a basis offact; we shall have to see.

What faith-strengthening times we live in.So many pieces of the final picture are movinginto place. Let us take courage—the Master isat the door!

“Oh how great is thy goodness, whichthou hast laid up for them that fear thee;which thou hast wrought for them that trustin thee before the sons of men!”“O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for theLORD preserveth the faithful, andplentifully rewardeth the proud doer. Be ofgood courage, and he shall strengthen yourheart, all ye that hope in the LORD” (Psa.31:19,23,24).

THE GAZADISENGAGEMENT: THEPREDICTED SCENES OF

VIOLENCE DID NOTHAPPEN!


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hat is a “church”? The original wordused in the New Testament is the Greekekklesia, which says Strong, means “a

calling out.” Vine tells us that the word iscomposed “from ek, out of, and klesis, acalling.” Others extend the idea—such asLiddel and Scott, to “an assembly of the citizenssummoned by the crier...” etc. The word hasbeen defined as from ekklesis “an invitation tocome out,” so that “the assembly of peopleconvened in consequence of their acceptance ofthe invitation is an ecclesia” (J. Thomas,Eureka).

This idea leads to the question—what arethe people invited into, or called out for? Theanswer of the Scripture is clearly given in Acts15:13, 14 as follows:

“James answered, saying, Men andbrethren, hearken unto me: Simeonhath declared how God at the firstdid visit the Gentiles, to take out ofthem a people for his name.”

This “taking out” or separation,resulted from the preaching andteaching of the word of God by theapostles. From Acts chapter 8 it can beseen that their message involved“preaching the word” (verses 4 & 25),by which they “preached Christ”(verse 5), “preached the gospel” (verse25), “preached unto him Jesus” (verse35)—all of which is summarized inverse 12 as “preaching the thingsconcerning the kingdom of God, andthe name of Jesus Christ.” When thisteaching was wholeheartedly believed,the next step was to obey. This wasdone through the act of baptism intothe Name (Matt. 28:19). This processhaving been completed byunderstanding (see Acts 8:30), believing withthe heart (verse 37) and upon confession of thethings believed, being immersed in water andinto the Name (verse 38), the Ethiopian eunuchand all others of the same mind became apeople of the Name.

A “church” then, in the Biblical sense, is anecclesia, or assembly of men and women whohave been called out of the nations for thekingdom and glory of God. They are called bybelieving the promises which concern thekingdom and the glory of the Name of Jesus asMessiah. Every member of such an assemblywill have been immersed into Christ’s Nameand thus separated from any attachments to thepresent evil world while awaiting thefulfillment of the gospel promises.

The First EcclesiasThe first assemblies of believers were

established by the apostles through whom theHoly Spirit operated, as had been promisedbefore by Jesus (see John 15:26-27; 16;13).They organized an assembly of believers byordaining (that is, appointing) elders in everyecclesia—Acts 14:23; 16:4,5. It should benoted that this was not accomplished by ademocratic vote, or even by the personalchoice of the apostle. It was the work of theHoly Spirit (Acts 20:28), which is to say that itwas God’s work (see 1 Cor. 12:28). This Hedid, working through the apostle by His HolySpirit.

So an ecclesia, or assembly of called outones, was a local arrangement set up by anapostle. The elders, or overseers of theassembly had been selected by God throughHis Holy (or special) Spirit that was vested in

the apostles. For the purpose of the work ofoverseeing the assembly, these elders wereeach granted an aspect of the Spirit, such aswe can read of in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, andalso in Ephesians 4:11-12. The purpose was“the perfecting of the saints, for the work ofthe ministry, for the edifying (building up) ofthe body of Christ” or ecclesia.

We must remember that this work wasaccomplished while the New Testament wasbeing written—and most of it before theapostolic writings that we now have, existed. Itwas a unique situation, and we must appreciatethat those conditions do not exist today. “Thecomforter” (that is parakletos: literally an aid,helper, assistant), which the Holy Spirit was,says Jesus in John 14:26, would “teach you allthings, and bring all things to yourremembrance, whatsoever I have said.” It wasthis assistance that enabled the writers of the

New Testament to do their work. There is no onewho can accomplish this today—all the claimsof Holy Spirit possession notwithstanding! Mostclaimants have a hard time remembering what iswritten, let alone that which was not!

There is therefore no exact counterpart to theecclesial system of the first century, with itsspirit-gifted eldership, possible in our day.

The Apostle’s Fellowship TodayWhen Jesus prayed for his immediate

disciples in John chapter 17, he also prayed forthose “also which shall believe on me throughtheir word; that they all may be one...” (verse 20,21).

So there was to be a oneness that laterbelievers would achieve through their belief ofthe apostles’ words. Their words are before us

even today in the New Testament, sothat by understanding and believingthem, someone today can become“one” with the apostles themselves.This oneness is called fellowship (aword in the New Testament meaningpartnership, a sharing in common).Thus the apostle John writes in 1 John1:3,“That which we have seen and hearddeclare we unto you, that ye alsomay have fellowship with us: andtruly our fellowship is with theFather, and with his Son JesusChrist.”

There is no other true basis offellowship than this. John says:“We are of God: he that knowethGod heareth us; he that is not of Godheareth not us. Hereby know we thespirit of truth, and the spirit of error”(1 John 4:6).

Believing the words of the apostles then, andhearing them (in the sense of accepting theirmeaning and effect) brings a oneness of mindand heart. This is not a technical or legalmembership of an organization called a“church,” but an identity of belief and faithcentred upon the things concerning the kingdomof God and the Name of Jesus Christ. Thoughremoved from the apostles and the earlybelievers by centuries of time, and from othersby thousands of miles, the oneness of mind bindsall together in the Lord Jesus Christ. The apostleJohn writes:

“This then is the message which we haveheard of him, and declare unto you, thatGod is light, and in him is no darkness at all.If we say that we have fellowship with him,and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not thetruth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in

EDITORIAL

THE HOUSEHOLD OF FAITHUNDER HUMAN MANAGEMENT

An aerial view of the city of Ephesus where the ApostlePaul established one of the early ecclesias

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the light, we have fellowship one withanother, and the blood of Jesus Christ hisSon cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:5-7).

A “Closed Fellowship”Ever since God separated light from darkness

as recorded in Genesis 1:4, there has been adistinction between “the children of light“ andthose who are in darkness (1 Thess. 5:5). “Light”represents the knowledge of God’s word, as weread in 2 Corinthians 4:6,

“For God, who commanded the light toshine out of darkness, hath shined in ourhearts, to give the light of the knowledge ofthe glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

“Thy word,” says the Psalmist, “is a lampunto my feet and a light unto my path”(119:105). The children of light therefore, arethose who are begotten with the word of theTruth—James 1:18. To these children of light inCorinth, the apostle Paul wrote saying:

“Be ye not unequally yoked together withunbelievers: for what fellowship hathrighteousness with unrighteousness? andwhat communion hath light with darkness?”(2 Cor. 6:14)

That there can be no fellowship between lightand darkness is clear from Paul’s words in verse17, “Wherefore come out from among them, andbe ye separate, saith the Lord...”

We must conclude then, thatthe apostles’ fellowship is aclosed fellowship. It is closedagainst all who are in darkness,and who walk in darkness. As towhat constitutes light anddarkness, God has revealed HisMind to us in the Scriptures andby the apostles’ doctrine. A manmay say that he is in fellowshipwith the Father, and with His son Jesus Christ,yet unknown to those who he claims as brethrenhe is actually walking in darkness. In that casesays John, such a man is a liar (1 John 1:6). He iscounterfeit. There can be no real fellowshipbetween the children of light and those indarkness—whether intellectual darkness(ignorance and unbelief) or moral and practical.

So What is Truth?Now what was “the apostles’ doctrine and

fellowship” (Acts 2:42)? The word doctrinemeans instruction—it is what they taught. As wesaw earlier, the apostles’ preached “the word”(Acts 8:4,25), which is equivalent to saying thatthey preached Christ, preached the Gospel,preached the things concerning the kingdom ofGod and the Name of Jesus Christ, and so forth.

Jesus, who is the authority on these things,says to his Father while in prayer to Him: “THY

WORD IS TRUTH” (John 17:17). And the apostlePaul in writing to the Colossians reminds themthat they had heard “the word of the truth of thegospel” (chapter 1:5). The Ephesians evidentlyhad heard the same doctrine namely “the word oftruth, the gospel” of salvation (chapter 1:13). Soit ought to be abundantly clear to us that the

apostles’ doctrine, or teaching, was THE TRUTH.How did they teach this truth? The answer

given in Acts 17:2 is that Paul, as his mannerwas, “reasoned with them out of the Scriptures.”Those Scriptures, that he told Timothy, “are ableto make thee wise unto salvation through faithwhich is in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 3:15). So whatwas the apostles’ doctrine? It was the Bible, andnothing less, it was what an angel of God called“the scripture of truth” (Daniel 10:21). This wordof God, Paul told the elders from Ephesus, “isable to build you up, and to give you aninheritance among all them which aresanctified,” or set apart (Acts 20:32).

But what does the Bible teach? What is thetruth of the gospel? The word “gospel” of course,means “good news.” When Matthew tells us thatJesus taught it, he says that he visited thesynagogues of Galilee, “preaching the gospel ofthe kingdom” (Matt. 4:23). He uses the samelanguage in chapter 9:35, as does Mark in chapter1:14. This tells us that the gospel or good news isabout a kingdom—and we know from therecorded words of Jesus that the particularkingdom concerned is Israel. This “gospel of thekingdom” said Jesus, “shall be preached in all theworld for a witness unto all nations” (Matt.24:14); so it becomes obvious that this was thesubject matter of the apostles’ preaching andteaching. So it is then that Paul came to Ephesus

and “spake boldly for the space of three months,disputing and persuading the things concerningthe kingdom of God” (Acts 19:8).

The things concerning the kingdom are manyand varied. Jesus, as Messiah, will sit upon therestored throne of David, reigning over theJewish nation (Luke 1:30-33), which will bereformed under a new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34;Romans 11:26-27). This kingdom will bepossessed by the saints of all ages, who will havedeveloped characters consistent with that of theFather and His son “through much tribulation” inthe present world (John 16:33; Acts 14:22). Paultells us that the Gospel was preached before untoAbraham (Galatians 3:8), and so it is based uponthe promises made to the patriarchs in the bookof Genesis. This was the apostle Paul’s positionas he explains it before king Agrippa in Acts26:6,7.

“And now I stand and am judged for thehope of the promise made of God unto ourfathers: Unto which promise our twelvetribes, instantly serving God day and night,hope to come. For which hope’s sake, kingAgrippa, I am accused of the Jews.”

Being at Rome in chains, the apostle explains

the reason for his incarceration, saying that itwas “because that for the hope of Israel I ambound with this chain” (Acts 28:20), which isanother way of saying that he suffered because ofthe hope of the gospel promise of the kingdom.The last scene that we have of this apostle in thebook of Acts is of him “preaching the kingdomof God, and teaching those things which concernthe Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 28:31).

This then was the apostles’ doctrine. It is notsomething that can be limited to a set ofpropositions as one may find in a confession orstatement of faith (as useful as that may be inpreserving the “form” of the Truth). It involved adeclaration of “all the counsel of God.”

In reality then, the apostles’ fellowship isrestricted to those individuals who believe theirdoctrine (which comprises all truth”—John16:13), and who walk in the light of theirteaching.

An Individual ResponsibilityJesus commanded his disciples: “Go ye into

all the world, and preach the gospel to everycreature. He that believeth and is baptized shallbe saved; but he that believeth not shall bedamned” (Mark 16:15,16). As we have seen, thisis what these disciples (also known as apostles)did. Those who responded were organized intolocal assemblies that were overseen by spirit-

gifted elders. This arrangementhowever did not take away theindividual responsibility whichevery member had to maintainapostolic standards. They“continued steadfastly in theapostles’ doctrine andfellowship, and in breaking ofbread and in prayers” (Acts2:42).

In the post-apostolic agewhen the ecclesial system with

its spirit-guided eldership had vanished off thescene (the apostle Paul said that it would be“done away”—1 Cor. 13:8,10), individuals couldstill respond to the apostles’ doctrine, for it waspreserved in the New Testament. They could stillbelieve the gospel and be baptized into Christ’sname. They could also join with other believers,but such a “household of faith,” (Gal. 6:10) couldnot now have a spirit-gifted eldership appointeddirectly by the Spirit of God, as in the days of theapostles. What they would have as their guide—and which the first century ecclesias did nothave—was a collection of the apostles’ writingsknown as the New Testament. Here are 27 booksand letters, from Matthew to Revelation, writtenunder inspiration of the Holy Spirit by theapostles, and which are all necessary to conductthe affairs of believers and their assemblies untilChrist’s return.

Today therefore, every believer of the Gospelcarries an individual responsibility for the Truth.Having a personal relationship with Christthrough a belief of the Gospel preached by theapostles, a commitment to the Lord becomes amatter of individual conscience. The apostle Paulhas written: “but now much more in my absence

This then was the apostles’ doctrine. Itis not something that can be limited to

a set of propositions as one may find in aconfession or statement of faith. It involved adeclaration of “all the counsel of God.”“

”


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work out your own salvation with fear andtrembling. For it is God which worketh in youboth to will and to do of his good pleasure”(Philippians 2:12,13). God works in the believerto this end, through the Gospel believed, “for it isthe power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16).

Now obedience to the Truth demands that abeliever associate with others who are also relatedto Christ through the Gospel. Let us think aboutthis. John has written:

“He that loveth his brother abideth in thelight, and there is none occasion ofstumbling in him. But he that hateth hisbrother is in darkness, and walketh indarkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth,because that darkness hath blinded his eyes”(1 John 2:10, 11).

Now how is it possible to love your brother ifyou have no contact with him? The commands ofChrist and his apostles have to do with ourinteraction with others. So Paul has also written:

“Let us draw near with a true heart in fullassurance of faith, having our heartssprinkled from an evil conscience, and ourbodies washed with pure water. Let us holdfast the profession of our faith withoutwavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)And let us consider one another to provokeunto love and to good works:Not forsaking the assembling ofourselves together, as themanner of some is; butexhorting one another: and somuch the more, as ye see theday approaching” (Heb. 10:22-25).

For some of us, this is adifficult and unwelcome trial—and the reason for that is that itasks us to deal with humannature—our own, and in others.Yet there is nothing morecalculated to help us develop thecharacter required for thekingdom than this. It faces us withthe need to be obedient. Look atthe qualities listed in Galatians5:22,23 and we will soonunderstand the need to associateourselves with others—such fruitcannot be produced in total isolation from others.

The Assembly TodayHow are these assemblies to be organised and

conducted, seeing that there is no directmanagement of them by the Holy Spirit today?Well, we do have the pattern of the first ecclesiasrecorded in the New Testament, and we do havethe instructions of the apostles to those ecclesias.It would seem obvious therefore that believerstoday are expected to study the principles left onrecord by the apostles, and apply them to thecircumstances which now prevail. This places theHousehold of Faith under human management, itis true—but not without an instruction book. Weshould understand that God in His wisdom, haspurposed it this way, that believers may conducttheir affairs through faith and trust in the

preserved word. This is not the first time inhistory that “there was no open vision” ( 1Samuel 3:1).

Things being what they are then, everymember of an ecclesia—or assembly of calledout ones—has a responsibility to ensure that allthings are done according to the pattern, and inharmony with the principles given in the inspiredword. The Bible is the only authority, and if thatis not consulted, the assembly will quicklydegenerate into a sort of religious social clubhaving very little regard for the Truth of theGospel of the kingdom. It is vital that membersread and study the Scriptures for themselves, notdelegating it to an elite clergy-class of“ministers.”

With few exceptions, the appeal of the NewTestament is to individuals in an ecclesia. “Hethat hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saithunto the ecclesias...” (Rev. 2:7 etc.). Thisresponsibility has to be taken seriously by thosewho honestly desire to serve the Lord. It is notsomething that can be left to others. Everyonemust “participate”—which is the meaning offellowship. An ecclesia is only as strong andhealthy as its members. If they are not moved andmotivated by the Truth of God’s word (regularlyabsorbed into the mind) then the assembly willsuffer spiritual death.

The human management of the household offaith can only fulfill the purpose of thathousehold if it maintain a love of the truth, and ofits members. The Lord himself, though invisible,speaks to us through the preserved words of theapostles—and he will bring circumstances tobear so that ecclesias and their members maydevelop faith. Where there is failure to maintainthe Truth, he will cut the people off (Romans11:21,22; Revelation 2:5; 3:16). In other wordssuch assemblies will cease to be in truefellowship, even though their Statement of Faithmay indicate otherwise, for there can be nofellowship with darkness.

Faithful ManagementAs we have said, there are no spirit-gifted

elders to conduct the affairs of an assemblytoday, yet a degree of organization is a practicalnecessity for the running of the group. Meetingsmust be arranged, preaching has to be plannedand implemented, finance has to be accounted—and many other things. If we ask who is bestqualified to look after this management, then theanswer surely, is given in passages of the NewTestament such as 1 Timothy 3, Titus 1:5-9 etc.We have to do the best we can, in faith.

Human nature being what it is, there aredangers and pitfalls here. Committees can tendto stifle and even kill individual initiative. If aDiotrephes loved to have preeminence in anecclesia during apostolic times (3 John 9), weshould not be surprised if similar people todayseek for positions of control within anassembly—sometimes with subtlety andsometimes rather more clumsily. It can happen,and it is the duty of members to exercisediscernment in their choice of those who overseearrangements in order to avoid this.

Human management of the household offaith can never be faultless—and sometimes itcan even be a challenge. But the object of theTruth is to build character, so that each individualacts in faith, trusting in the word of God as his orher authority. When difficulties arise—as theywill—the appeal must be to the Bible and its

teaching. Democratic procedures are nosubstitute for this. No set of rules(commandments of men), noconstitution, position paper, or anythingelse can replace the teaching of theapostles. True fellowship requires thehumble submission of believers toapostolic doctrine and counsel.

But one of the apostolic commandsto the believers is: “Yea, all of you besubject one to another, and be clothedwith humility” (1 Peter 5:5). Where anagreed framework of understanding andcode of conduct governs the assembly inharmony with apostolic teaching, itdeserves the loyal support of all,“submitting yourselves one to another inthe fear of God” (Ephesians 5:21).

None of us lives to himself, says theapostle (Romans 14:7), so we are to walk“charitably” (that is in love). Asindividuals we have freedom in Christ,

that is true—but: “take heed lest by any meansthis liberty of yours become a stumblingblock tothem that are weak” (1 Cor. 8:9).

If we sin against the brethren, we sin againstChrist (verse 12).

Absolute liberty is licentiousness, and no truedisciple would follow a course of unrestrainedliberty. We are called upon to learn obedience,and so it is that members of an assembly todaymust sometimes surrender some of theirindividual freedom for the benefit of the whole.This is not always easy, but it is necessarysometimes in order to preserve “the house ofGod, which is the ecclesia of the living God, thepillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15).

An old photograph shows believers engaged in “theassembling of ourselves together” (Hebrews 10:25) in about1916. Groups like this would meet for “a tea meeting.” This

one took place in Leamington, England.


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THE BIBLE MAGAZINE NOTICE BOARDNORTHERN ENGLAND

PROPHECY DAY OCT. 29, 05.PRESTON

Commences at 3:00pm at:Priory Technical College

Crow Hills Road, PenworthamPreston, PR1 0JE

THE COMING OF THELORD DRAWETH NIGH

1. Identifying the False ProphetJonathan Bowen, Brantford, Canada.

2. The Coming Euro-Russian AllianceJohn Ramsden. London.

3. Events Subsequent to Return of ChristStephen Whitehouse, Watford.

UK PROPHECY DAYS

2006Milestones Prophecy Day at the BennHall Rugby. February 26th. Forinformation contact Don Pearce01788823 811

Kent Prophecy Day at East MallingVillage Hall. April 8th. For informationcontact Peter Moore 01474 703037

South West Wales Prophecy Day. Forinformation contact Brian Woodall01269 596 973

PROPHECY DAYS INNORTH AMERICA

2005GATHERING THE NATIONS

TO ARMAGEDDON1. Israel’s Rising

Paul Billington, Brantford, Ont.2. The End of Gentile Times

Frank Abel, Shelburne, Ont.3. Rome’s False Prophet

Frank Abel, Shelburne, Ont.4. Russia, Europe. & The Invasion of Israel

Paul Billington, Brantford, Ont.

THE ABOVE PROGRAMME WILLBE HELD (GOD WILLING) IN THEFOLLOWING LOCATIONS:Saturday October 15. 10 am. DetroitProphecy Day, Livonia Hall. ContactDave Jackson 248-299-5460

Saturday October 29. 9: am. VirginiaProphecy Day, Best Western Inn,Williamsburg. Contact Glenn Abel,804 784 1252

Saturday November 12. Florida ProphecyDay, at Largo Ecclesial Hall. ContactStephen Lewis. 727-517-8585.

Saturday November 19. Denver ProphecyDay. Speaker Paul Billington. ContactWayne Osborne 303 227 7829

2006Saturday January 28 San Diego ProphecyDay (Frank Abel and Paul Billington)Contact Kent Ellis [email protected]

THE PROGRAMME FOR 2006INCLUDES PROPHECY DAYS

IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS:Saturday April 22 InvercargillTuesday April 25 Christchurch/ DunedinSaturday April 29 WellingtonSaturday May 6 Auckland

For information contact David ArcherPhone: 232-6192

PROPHECY DAYS INNEW ZEALAND

PROPHECY DAYS INAUSTRALIA

Current arrangements are not to handat press time.

NOTICE ABOUTBIBLE MAGAZINE

DELIVERY INAUSTRALIA &NEW ZEALAND

Commencing with this issue ofthe Bible Magazine subscriberswill begin receiving the magazinevia air mail from Canada. Therewill still be a delay due to anylocal postal arrangements, butthis does mean that subjectmatter will be more topical thanhas been the case previously.

A new DVD (video) should beavailable shortly. Please watch

our website for detailswww.biblemagazine.com

NOW ALSOAVAILABLE

AS APRINTABLE

WEEKLYTRANSCRIPT

The Bible in The News is a short audio broadcast eachweek linking Scripture to events in the news. It is normallyput up on our website early afternoon each Thursday(Eastern standard time here in Canada).In addition to our regular audio version, there is now also atranscription of the broadcast in pdf format which can beprinted if so desired. It is a short (usually 10 to 15 minutes)commentary making us aware of God’s Hand at work incurrent events each week. As the angels are at work in theworld around us, bringing the purpose and prophecies tofulfillment, so also are they at work in the lives of all thosewho fear Him — Psalm 34:7.

www.bibleinthenews.com

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The Package includes:• Powerpoint presentations on CD’s• Workbook (on CD). U-print• 2 sample DVD’s of actual presentations• Sample newspaper advertisement

(Further DVD’s of presentations available if required)


Page 12

ince the days of the third century A.D.there has been perennial fascination withthe Biblical number 666. It occurs inRevelation 13:18 and reads:

“Here is wisdom. Let him that hathunderstanding count the number of thebeast: for it is the number of a man; and hisnumber is Six hundred threescore and six.”

A Waste of TimeAnyone with an hour to waste on surfing

the net will soon discover literally dozens of“imaginative” (“foolish” would be a betterword!) ideas as to what 666 means, or to whomit refers. It has been a central topic of many a

making millions of dollars for their authors.Some intellectuals, displaying greater

mathematical and linguistic skills than simplecommon sense, have lifted the numbercompletely out of its context and identified itwith their own name, that of their favourite

author, their credit card identification numberor even with the title of Adolf Hitler’s MeinKampf!

All this senseless speculation, however,totally overlooks the context in which the verseoccurs, and to what the number is related. It isin fact a symbol of the continuing power ofRome in its varying forms from the days ofChrist onwards. Revelation 13 expands on theprophecies given by Daniel in his 7th chapterconcerning world powers which are portrayedas beasts. The Fourth Beast of Daniel chapter 7metamorphoses over a long period from thetimes of the Roman empire through to today,and as verse 21 makes clear, it will still be inexistence in one form or another when Christ

returns. Thus Revelation 13 takes up the themeand traces the evolution of the powers whichfollowed on from the ancient Empire of Rome.As the simplest history book will show, thepower of Rome passed first to Charlemagne inabout 800 AD and thereafter in the MiddleAges to the Holy Roman Empire in CentralEurope. This has now been superseded by theEuropean Union of today which significantlyenough was founded by the Treaty of Rome in1957. The growing power over individualfreedom by the European Union is concerningmany politicians and it constitutes a potentially

EUROPE &THE ROMANCONNECTION

EUROPE &THE ROMANCONNECTION

Signing the Rome Treaty in 1957

By John Ramsden LONDON, UK.

the number (666) is... a symbol of thecontinuing power of Rome in its varying

forms from the days of Christ onwards.“ ”

Above: The European Union in session.

S


“Christian” paperback for several years past

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serious threat to the traditional rights offreedom of speech and religious expression.Tony Blair’s proposed legislation, intended todeal with Muslim extremism, will clearlyinfringe the rights of many Protestants toprotest as aggressively as they have done in thepast against the growing power of RomanCatholicism.

666 is the Number of a Beast!The point so often missed when attempting

to identify what is meant by 666 is the carefulway in which Revelation 13:18 is worded.Although it is the number of a man (or rather asuccession, or “dynasty” of men) rather thanmankind in general, nevertheless that numberis applied to and is concerned with the nature ofthe beast in Revelation 13. Thus the beast andthe man are interrelated—a point overlookedby those who apply it to, for example, aparticular dictator who will arise in the last

days. One has to ask them how the person theyhave in mind, identified with and is related tothe ‘Roman’ beast described in thischapter. It is not surprising thereforethat the Lord promises wisdom tothose who try hard to perceive thereal significance of this enigmaticverse.

Letters have NumbersUnlike the English language, in

ancient Greek, Hebrew, Egyptianand other languages each letter ofthe alphabet had a numericalequivalent. Thus for example inGreek the letter equivalent to “L”has the value 30, and the letterequivalent to “E” is 5. In ancienttimes it was common practice whenreferring to pagan gods or evenimportant people to use the

numerical equivalents to refer to particular menor even gods. For example, in Egypt the godThoth had the number 1218: in Rome, Jupiterwas 717 and in Greece Apollo was 606. So towhat, then, does the number 666 apply, bearingin mind that this number of a man has to relateto this specific Roman beast?

There have been many attempts to unravelthe enigma presented to us by the Apostle Johnin A.D. 96. His early contemporaries however,were in no doubt as to its application. One ofthem was a student called Polycarp whoprobably knew John personally, and was in turnmentor to another early Christian, Irenaeus. Helived only a few years after John himself andbelieved in the promises to Abraham, Isaac andJacob; in the resurrection and the ensuingmillennial kingdom based in Jerusalem asprophesied by Ezekiel, Isaiah and others.Given this grasp of so many essentials of theGospel message it is not surprising that heshould have been clear in his own mind as towhat John was prophesying. Using the Greekalphabet (the language in which Revelation iswritten) he discovered that 666 was thenumerical value attaching to the wordLateinos—an expression for the Latin Kingdomof the latter days. He was not alone, for manyBible students from the days of theReformation onwards have also arrived at thesame conclusion.1

Where is Lateinos Today?Where are we to look for such a “kingdom”

with a form of leadership provided by adynasty of leaders and related to the Roman“beast” power of the latter days? Clearly noneof the popular ideas about 666 come anywherenear demonstrating the interrelationship of areligious leadership role with the particularpolitical power which is the subject ofRevelation chapter 13. When set in the correctcontext it is clear that, immediately before thereturn of Christ, we are looking at a “beast-kingdom” succeeding the old Holy RomanEmpire, namely the European Union which isso heavily influenced by the spiritual power ofRome. As one Bible student, John Thomas, saw

What are the connections with Rome? Was it foreseen in the book of Revelation?

LATEINOSThe Greek alphabet showing the numerical values

The sum of the numerical values of the letters ofthe Greek word “LATEINOS” equals 666.


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it writing way back in 1867, “No power onearth has so exclusive a claim to the name of‘Lateinos’ as the power of the Seven Hills.”

666 and the European ParliamentBecause so many people refuse to consider

the number 666 in the right context and also failto grasp what the Bible really means by theterm “antichrist,” they are led on to thepromotion of some really strange ideas.2 Oneof the most bizarre is the expectation that astrange supernatural pseudo-Christianpowerful leader whom we might even call “Mr.666” will arise from within the EuropeanParliament. A year or two ago there was muchfoolish speculation that when an enlargedEuropean Parliament came to allocate seats toits 732 members that the seat numbered 666might be occupied by none other than theimagined “Antichrist” himself.3 Indeed for awhile the seat did remain unoccupiedheightening a sense of growing drama.

To investigate the situation for ourselves werecently made a visit to Brussels and discoveredthat the supposed mystical occupant of seatnumber 666 was none other than the genial, 69year-old Mr. Mogens Camre, a Danish People’sParty MEP, (see picture)—not quite the sort ofperson who the plethora of Christian paperwriters would have foreseen as the latter dayAntichrist (see seating plan below and interioropposite).

Mr. Mogens belongs to a small select groupof 27 MEPs drawn from seven differentcountries as far apart as Ireland, Italy andLithuania—all of them of Catholic orientation.Their joint leaders are Brian Crowley fromDublin’s Fianna Fail Party and ChristinaMuscadine from Italy’s National Alliance party.What they stand for as distinct from the othersix groupings of Left, Right, Centre,Independent, Green, and Christian Democratparties is hard to discern. Their manifesto is atypical piece of “Eurospeak” but focuses on

“the need to respect individual local autonomywithin the European context,” and to “promotesocial groups” whilst “protecting towns fromovercrowding” etc. etc.

Two Parliaments for one Government!Whether the same seating plan applies in

the duplicate European Parliament building inStrasbourg we cannot confirm from personalinspection. But the very fact that there shouldbe two such Parliament buildings for onegovernment is one of the great curiosities of theEuropean situation. The origin of that situationhas something to do with French insistence thatthe proper place for the parliament should be at

Strasbourg—the “cross roads” (the Franco-German cross road, that is!) of Europe and notat a city like Brussels that houses the NATOheadquarters, so disliked by earlier FrenchPresidents. Be that as it may, many MEPs arenot happy with the situation that requires themto shuttle back and forth every month betweenBrussels and Strasbourg. To quote from anofficial E.U. document: “Parliament onlyspends four days each month in Strasbourg inorder to take its final plenary votes. Additionalplenary meetings are held in Brussels.”However, it continues, “On several occasionsthe European parliament has expressed a wish

Seat number 666 occupied by Mr Mogen Camre is arrowed in the abovephotograph of the interior chamber of the European parliament at Brussels.

This chamber is in the Berlaymont building pictured below.

THE BERLAYMONT BUILDING & A SECTION OF THE SEATING PLAN


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Mr. Mogens Camre, a DanishPeople’s Party MEP. “Mr. 666!”

to be granted the right to choose for itself thelocation for its seat.”

Very recently they had the opportunity todo just that! In August this year, a Catholicpolish MEP, Mr. Marian Giertych (see boxleft), Chairman of the 36-strong “Independentand Democratic” group of MEPs made aproposal to close down both the Brussels andStrasbourg Parliament buildings and relocate tojust one such building in Rome!

“Christianity Derives from Rome”!We have no interest in commenting as to

why this proposal was allowed to lapse, Thereasons for proposing the move are of specialinterest to Bible Magazine readers looking for alatter day “Latin Kingdom” lead by the “Manof Sin.” Reading through the half dozen or sostatements made in support of the proposal, themost significant are, because:—• “Europe’s political and civil law is based on

Roman Law.”• “Europe’s idea of citizenship and civil

responsibility derives from the Romanconcept of a citizen (‘Civis Romanus’).”

• “Ethical values predominant in Europe andthe Western world are derived fromChristianity which for 2000 years emanatedfrom Rome.”

In short you could say because Europe is, ineffect, a very Latin Kingdom!

To what extent this proposal may have beeninfluenced by the Vatican (alias the Man of Sin)we do not know at present, but such a movewould have been entirely consistent with thedetermination of the new German PopeBenedict to exercise greater influence over the

affairs of Europe in the future.

Footnotes1. For example, the Anglican Bishop Newton in1754: “The Reverend Elliot in Horae Apocalypticae1837, Dr. John Thomas in Eureka, 1867.2. The word antichrist occurs only five times in theBible—all in the Epistles of John. It is not anindividual, but refers primarily to a number of false

Second home of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on the French-Germanborder. This is the well-known “Tower of Babel Building” often pictured from a

different angle and from the opposite side.

doctrines which were beginning to emerge in thechurch e.g. the Trinity, the Atonement etc. it is truehowever, that these are some of the characteristicteachings of the papacy—a powerful organisationreferred to by the Apostle Paul in Thessalonians asthe Man of Sin.3. See, for example the web site of the EuropeanInstitute of Protestant Studies promoted by IanPaisley in Belfast.

Marian Giertych: Wants tomove EU headquarters to

Rome

DOCUMENT SAYSTHAT EUROPE

COULD BE RULEDFROM ROME

In a European Union document recently seen by TheBible Magazine, a written declaration had been made byMarian Giertych (pictured opposite) to the effect that asingle seat for the European Parliament could beestablished “in the city of Rome.” It is significant thatthis written declaration comes from a Roman CatholicMember of the European Parliament.

Readers of this magazine will be aware of theprophecy which speaks of a harlot church sitting uponthe European scarlet coloured beast. John says:

“I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast,full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads andten horns” (Revelation 17:3).

The idea of “sitting” upon a beast carries the idea ofcontrolling it, as a rider would a horse. The Romanharlot is seated upon the seven-hilled city (verse 9), andrepresents that city “which reigneth over the kings of theearth” (verse 18). Is this city of Rome going to rule overthe kings of the earth (Europe) in both a civil and

spiritual capacity?We wait to see what happens,

but the reasons why this could cometo pass are given in this article byJohn Ramsden..


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n explaining their motives to the rest of theworld, Islamic terrorists and theirsponsors such as Al Qaeda, frequentlycite the policies of Western nations

towards the Middle East, and toward“Palestine” in particular, as being at the root oftheir grievances. Osama bin Laden and othershave plainly said so. The spectacular and deadlyattack upon the twin towers in New York andthe bombings of London’s undergroundtransport system have both been linked to theMiddle East.

History Catching UpIt may seem that terrorist attacks today are

far removed from the times of Lawrence of

Arabia at the beginning of the last century, andthe policies of a British government that stillruled over a world-wide empire. But theconnection is as real as it has been long andburdensome. Britain has never been able tofully escape the consequences of her formerpolicies in the Middle East—and the Arabnations that emerged from those times assovereign powers have nursed a constantresentment ever since.

Lawrence of Arabia—so the story goes—stirred up the Arabs of the deserts withpromises of liberty from the Ottoman Turks,and with visions of Arab nationhood andindependence. Sherif Hussein of Mecca, thechief of the Hashimite family, expected (andwas perhaps promised) that he would become“King of the Arabs” once the Ottoman Turks

were driven out.But Britain had other allies during the First

World War. She had made an agreement withFrance—the Sykes-Picot Agreement—todivide the Middle East into spheres ofinfluence. The Arabs naturally felt cheated outof the full independence they had expected.

Then came the Balfour bombshell, statingthat: “His Majesty’s Government view withfavour the establishment in Palestine of anational home for the Jewish people.” TheUnited States gave its support to the concept—and so a road-map was drawn up whicheventually saw the creation of the State ofIsrael.

The Arabs did not view it with favourhowever, and soon made their feelings quite

TO ARMAGEDDONBy Paul Billington BRANTFORD, ON.

I


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evident. The violence has continued unto thisday!

Prophecy FulfilledThe prophecies of Israel’s return to their

ancient homeland began to take on a reality thatturned faith into sight, as the national homecame into being. But these prophecies—andthere are many of them—must also mean thatthe previous populations would be largelysubdued or resettled elsewhere. If there is to be“a partial and primary restoration of Jews beforethe manifestation” of Christ—what was tobecome of the Ottoman Turks, and the Arabs (ofwhom Thomson in his The Land and the Book(1879) was less than flattering)?

If Jews are to be dwelling in the mountainsof Israel and the midst of the land—as Ezekiel38 verses 8 and 12 require—what about theformer inhabitants? What happens to them?

Again, when the time comes that God will“bring again the captivity of Judah andJerusalem“ (Joel 3:1), what becomes of thosewho dwelt there up to that time?

Over 350 years ago Joseph Mede saw the“return of Israel” from the Scriptures. “Togetherwith this,” he wrote, “there shall be joined thecutting down, or overthrow of the TurkishEmpire: according to that which is read at thesixth vial, but in another figure, the waters ofthat great river Euphrates are to be dried up,that the way of the kings of the East may beprepared.”

But how would this be accomplished? Medewrote:

“Therefore by the sixth vial this Euphrateandeluge shall be dried up... But by whatmeans that is to come to pass, and by whatauthors; whether by the Jews themselveswho shall possess the holy land again; or bysome intestine (i.e. internal) discordopportunely to precede the return of these;or haply both, but in order, and one after

another; or whether by some other cause(is)... a matter wholly yet to come.”

History has now solved a major part of thepuzzle. The Turkish, or Ottoman Empire(represented by the great river Euphrates) wasremoved by Britain and her allies during theWar of 1914-18. But this still left a residue—the Arabs. They were partly overcome by theJews themselves during the 1948 war ofIndependence and subsequent wars, duringwhich many of them fled and became known tothe world as ‘Palestinian refugees.’

Arab HostilityThe pattern of Israel’s resettlement of the

land almost seems to mirror the words of

T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia).During the First World War Lawrencewon over many Arabs to the cause ofBritain and her allies, holding out theprospect of independence. Lawrence in

fact had Zionist sympathies.

Public reaction to Islamic extremism — How will Western political leaders respond?

Bin Laden: He links his cause to eventsduring the First World War when

Britain and her allies brought to an endthe Islamic Ottoman Empire, and

introduced a Jewish national home.


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Exodus 23:30:“By little and little I will drive them outfrom before thee, until thou be increased,and inherit the land.”

When we look back at the course of Jewishhistory as it relates to the Land and how it hasdeveloped since the very early settlers migratedthere at the end of the 19th Century, we see thatthe nation has increased gradually, and that theformer inhabitants have relinquished the land“by little and little.” The hostility of the“Palestinians” toward the Israelis however, hasnot diminished.

This implacable hostility towards the Jewshas served a vital purpose, it has ensured thatIsrael became—and remained—a separatenation. Again this fits the way in which Goddealt with the nation in Old Testament times:

“But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherittheir land, and I will give it unto you topossess it, a land that floweth with milkand honey: I am the LORD your God, whichhave separated you from other people...And ye shall be holy unto me: for I theLORD am holy, and have severed you fromother people, that ye should be mine” (Lev.20:24, 26).

Had the Jews been welcomed, and Israelfully accepted into the Middle East communityof nations, they would have soon assimilatedand have become intermingled with their

neighbours. That however was not the purposeof God.

It is very clear upon visiting the Land today,that security is extremely high due to theviolence and terrorism there. This is especiallyso when travelling to Judea or Samaria (the so-called West Bank). What you see there issecurity walls, check points with bars and gates(see photographs above, right). It is not at allthe condition described in Ezekiel 38:11. Webelieve that this will come to pass of course,and that before the invasion of the Land fromthe north (verse 15), it will be a “land ofunwalled villages” or settlements. It will be atrest and they will “dwell safely, all of themdwelling without walls, and having neither barsnor gates.”

But that is not the present condition. Today,walls, bars, gates and the hostility of thePalestinian Arabs are ensuring that Israel

remains physically separate.

Islam, Revolution & HumanismThe Islamic people (sometimes called

Moslems, Muslims or Mohammedans) mayhave been stirred up by Lawrence of Arabia torebel against the Ottoman Turks in the interestsof the British war effort. But in actual fact, theyalready were aspiring to revolt. The OttomanEmpire was already “the sick man of Europe”and had begun to break up with the Greek warsof Independence in the 1820’s. By the timeWorld War One had broken out, many of theEuropean nations had already broken loose.This spirit of revolution was unstoppable. TheFrench spirit of “Liberty, Equality andFraternity” (the brotherhood of man—humanism) was going forth to the whole world(c/p Revelation 16:14), and this included theArab world. Lawrence simply had to harnesswhat was already there. Whatever theirfailings, the British freed the Arabs from theOttoman shackles.

Several regimes that were set up in theMiddle East after the First World War weresoon the subjects of revolution. King Feisal ofIraq was shot in a 1958 revolution. Egypt’sKing Farouk was deposed in a 1952 coup byColonel Nasser. The Shah of Persia (Iran) wasdeposed in 1979. Jordan’s King Abdullah wasshot in 1951, but his grandson (King Hussein)retained the monarchy. Saudi Arabia foundedby Ibn Saud, who died in 1953, has remained

ISLAMIC HOSTILITY AGAINSTA JEWISH NATIONAL HOME

Islamic nations have been makingwar against Israel ever since 1948(far left and above). Yet while seekingto destroy Israel, most have been tornapart by revolution and internalstrife. Left is the Ayatollah Khomeiniwho toppled the Shah of Iran in 1979.


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fairly stable. Lebanon has been under theshadow of Syria.

Every war with Israel has meant utterdefeat for the Arab nations, so that today areluctant resignation to the political andmilitary facts seems to have become thedominant sentiment of the Arab world.

As the revolutionary phase passes intohistory, Islam (which means “submission”)will eventually give way to humanism. It willin some cases accommodate the Europeanmodel of socialism, and in other cases adoptthe American democratic character. TheScriptural basis for saying this results fromidentifying the spirit spoken of in Revelation16:13-14, which goes forth to all the world andalso in the fact that Islamic nations are to bedivided into two blocks by the time Ezekiel 38is fulfilled. One group (verse 5) are with thenorthern invader and the other group is seenwith the trading nations in verse 13. So eversince the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, theArab world has become progressively weakerand disunited. This is all part of the sixth vial.

“And the sixth angel poured out his vialupon the great river Euphrates; and thewater thereof was dried up, that the way ofthe kings of the east might be prepared”(Rev.16:12).

These events are also due to the work of the“spirits like frogs” which go forth to gather thenations “to the battle of that great day of GodAlmighty” (verses 13 and 14). The spirit ofrevolution, of independence, of the power ofthe masses clamouring for perceived“rights”—all this has been at work in the Arabworld.

The weak, yet desperate and fanatical

elements in theremnants of theIslamic world, haveresorted to that form ofguerrilla warfare thatwe know as terrorism.It is a form of warfarethat relies upon itspowerful enemies (theU.S., Britain, Israeletc) to buy relief fromthe threats and violence by submitting to thedemands that may be made. It can only beeffective up to a point—yet it contributes tobringing about that situation described by Jesusin Luke 21:26:

“Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and forlooking after those things which arecoming on the earth: for the powers ofheaven shall be shaken.”

A Dominant ReligionBible prophecy is quite clear that there is to

be one dominant world religion at the time ofChrist’s coming. This system is described bythe apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8 underthe title of “that man of sin.” In Revelationchapter 17 it is “the great whore that sittethupon many waters” (verse 1); waters whichrepresent “peoples, and multitudes, andnations, and tongues” (verse 15). It is thereforean ecclesiastical system that has aninternational (universal, or Catholic) following.It also represents a great city having power andinfluence over world rulers (verse 18). It is acity located upon seven hills (verse 9), andwhich is known as a “mother” of other religiousharlots (verse 5).

This dominant religious system is not

Islam! The “Man of Sin” system described in 2Thessalonians developed from a movementalready at work in Paul’s day (chapter 2:7). Itwas the result of “a falling away” (apostasy)among early Christians (verse 3). There is justno way that this answers to the religion ofMohammed, which did not appear until theyear A.D. 622,

The whore of the Apocalypse—a systemthat is brought to an end through Christ’sjudgements (Revelation 18:20, 21; 19:1-3)cannot be made to fit Islam either. It fits onlyone religious system, and that is the RomanCatholic (or universal) church. There is just noother religious leader that can compare with thePope who regularly receives Presidents andPrime Ministers, Kings, Queens, Princes andStatesmen from all over the world. Withoutdoubt, this is the dominant religious system inthe earth today.

There can be no correct understanding ofthe world scene today if this system is notidentified. This identification is key.

The Vatican & IslamThe Vatican has had many enemies down

the centuries and one of them has certainlybeen Islam. The Larousse Encyclopaedia of

Above is an example of the“walls, bars and gates” (c/pEzekiel 38:11) greeting a visitor to the mountains ofIsrael today. While these walls, bars & gates keep Jewand Arab separate at check-points, the Vatican has itsown agenda for the Holy Land and the city of Jerusalem.

Above: A gate is opened for an armoured car.

The famous “security fence”

The Vatican’snewspaper(above) and TheCatholic Universespeak their mindabout Israel andJerusalem.

KISSING THE KORAN (Pope John Paul)


Ancient & Medieval History describes themin language that could be applied to locusts:

“Between 674 and 677 their squadronsreappeared each spring... 150,000Moslems, stripping the country bare intheir passage, advanced as far as Nicea,and the standard of the Caliph floatedover the Bosphoros. Thus the Arabs, lessthan a hundred years after the death of theProphet, held the Mediterranean from theBosphoros to Egypt, from Egypt toSpain.”

The rivalry between Christendom andIslam continued for centuries. For 600 yearsafter Pope Urban II called the first crusadein 1095 A.D. conflict raged between the tworeligions as they competed for the masteryof the world. It would be naive to imaginethat this rivalry no longer exists, or that a“clash of civilisations” could not explode inour time.

Joseph Ratzinger, before becomingPope Benedict XVI stressed the superiorityof Catholicism in the document entitledDominus Iesus, written in 2000. His claimwas: “only in the Catholic Church is thereeternal salvation.” Despite the diplomaticand ecumenical language we often hearcoming out of the Vatican, there is no realreason to think that he has changed hismind. In July of this year (2005) the Popewas asked by journalists whether Islamcould be considered a religion of peace—hisreply was non-committal: “I would not liketo use big words to apply generic labels” hereplied. “It certainly contains elements thatcan favour peace. It also has other elements;we must always seek the best elements.”

Since the Vatican Council of 1962 to1965 the Catholic Church had appeared tobe making efforts to engage in dialogue withother religions, including Islam.

“If in the course of the centuries there hasarisen not infrequent dissension andhostility between Christian and Muslim,this sacred council now urges everyone toforget the past, to make sincere efforts atmutual understanding and to work togetherin protecting and promoting for the benefitof all men, social justice, good morals aswell as peace and freedom.” (Declarationon the relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions, 1965).

Pope John Paul II certainly gave theappearance of carrying that policy through. Hevisited Muslim countries (e.g. Jordan andSyria), mosques, opposed the war on SaddamHussein’s Iraq and even kissed the Koran! Butthis approach may well have had its hiddenagenda.

An article on IslamOnline.net said thatMuslim analysts are concerned about thespread of (Catholic) Christian missionary workin Muslim countries—especially in turbulentareas such as Iraq and those Asian countriesaffected by tsunami killer waves. Thesemissionaries pour in, says the report, “shroudedin secrecy and under the guise of humanitarian

aid.” The Islamic holy month of Ramadan isoften marked by the Vatican with calls for“greater collaboration” between Christians andMuslims as is frequently reported by theworld’s media, including the BBC.

The Vatican, the PLO & IsraelThe Vatican befriended the late Yasser

Arafat leader of the Palestinian terrorists, in abig way. This man had more audiences withPope John Paul II than any other worldstatesman. In February of 2000 a PLO-VaticanAgreement was signed—the very first line ofwhich sets both parties on a path ofconfrontation with Israel. The very name, “thePalestine Liberation Organization does this. Ittells us that the object of the organization is to“liberate” Palestine. But who from? We aresoon given the answer. The document calls for:

“...a peaceful solution of the Palestine-Israeli conflict, which would realize theinalienable national legitimate rights andaspirations of the Palestinian people...”

The five years that have elapsed since thatdocument was signed tells us just how thephrase “peaceful solution” is to be understood.A headline in the U.K. Guardian newspaper(March 23, 2000) put it like this: POPE FANS

THE FLAMES OF PALESTINIAN RESENTMENT. The

Summer of that year saw the eruption of thePalestinian uprising, or Intifada. A not verypeaceful solution we suggest!

Then, more recently, there came PopeBenedict’s condemnation of terrorismagainst Egypt, Turkey, Iraq and Britain—and although there had been a suicidebombing in Natanya that same week, Israelwas omitted from the list. Israel protestedthis publicly, which drew the arrogantresponse from the Vatican that “the HolySee cannot take lessons or instructions fromany other authority on the tone and contentof its statements.”

The Vatican has never been sympatheticto the Zionist cause, of course, because eventhough Israel was established as a secularstate, the religious background of Judaismand the hope of a redemption with therestoration of a Jewish kingdom aspromised by the ancient prophets,constitutes a threat to the claims of theCatholic Church—that the Church is thekingdom of God upon earth presided overby Christ’s representative, the Pope. Here isa rival which, in its way, is potentially evenmore ominous and threatening to theVatican’s position than is Islam. Hence theChurch leaders prefer to side with Moslemcountries against Israel—and it especiallysuits their purpose to support as strongly aspossible the “aspirations” of thePalestinians whose mission and purpose it isto “liberate“ all of Palestine from the Jewishpresence there.

Rome has thus found it to be in herinterests to exploit the Palestinian-Israeliconflict, in the hope that Israel might bedislodged from the Biblical heartlands inthe West Bank, and from Jerusalem in

particular.This Vatican support of the Palestinian

cause has continued for several years—and sofar it has only achieved an Israeli pull-out fromGaza, which is of minimal interest. The initialsigns are that the Palestinians are incapable ofmanaging to hold together a responsiblegovernment of their own in Gaza, and this mustraise questions as to whether they could faremuch better in the West Bank. The Vatican willexpect to see some payback for its support.They cannot afford to back a loser indefinitely.

Meanwhile Islamic extremists are makingtheir presence felt in Europe. Moslem Turkeywants to join the European Union—up to nowa Christian club. The Vatican must thereforeconsider its options.

Time for ChangeAn article in The Washington Post (April

15, 2005) ran the headline: VATICAN IS

RETHINKING RELATIONS WITH ISLAM. The articlenotes what it calls “crossed signals” comingout of Rome with regards to relations withIslam. The article cites a Jesuit magazine whichpointed out that “the Vatican’s professions oftolerance for Muslims had not been displayedequally by Muslims for Christians.”

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Rome has thus found it tobe in her interests to

exploit the Palestinian-Israeliconflict, in the hope thatIsrael might be dislodged

from the Biblical heartlandsin the West Bank, and from

Jerusalem in particular.

‘

’

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger: Now Benedict XV1


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Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald president of thePontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogueis quoted as saying: “There are some Muslimswho view Europe in major decline and have thegoal and aspiration to Islamicize Europe.”

What seems to be emerging then, is a two-track Vatican policy toward Islam. To opposeextremist and terrorist elements who demandtoo much of Europe while strengtheningCatholic roots in European society — but at thesame time seeking dialogue as a means offorming ties with those Islamic nations that maybe useful to the Church in the future.

If the Palestinians prove to be ineffective asa means of forcing Israel out of the Biblicalheartlands—then some other means must befound of accomplishing it. This may well meanturning towards Russia, Europe and a handfulof Islamic nations, such as is described inEzekiel chapter 38. Should the Vatican decidethat it cannot achieve its objective through thePalestinian Arab route alone, then we couldexpect that to translate into a changed situation.

Is Peace Possible?Ezekiel 38:11 requires a secure situation on

the mountains of Israel prior to Gog’sinvasion—as we noted earlier. This situation isone that will allow prosperity to develop there.But this cannot happen while Palestinianterrorists and suicide bombers roam the area asthey do now. They must either be brought undercontrol, or else be resettled elsewhere. Ezekielis very specific—there are to be no walls, barsor gates. The conditions will be such, that thesedefences will not be required.

A realistic military option for the Arabsagainst Israel simply does not exist today. Arabwars against Israel have all failed to destroy theJewish State. The threat from Iraq has beenremoved, and even Iran is hardly going toinitiate a nuclear exchange with Israel. Egypt,

(humanly speaking) is Vatican policy. If theCatholic Church should choose to replace thePalestinians as their main lever to dislodgeIsrael, their usefulness and importance willdiminish, probably allowing Israel a period ofrelative calm while the forces of Ezekiel 38:1-7 are “prepared.”

“Peace and Safety”1 Thessalonians 5 speaks of the day of the

Lord coming “as a thief in the night” (verse 2).Not that the Lord’s brethren should beovertaken by it (verse 4), for as he goes on tosay, “Ye are all the children of light.”

The children of light addressed here “knowperfectly” that it is “when they shall say, Peaceand safety” that the sudden destruction of thethief-like coming will engulf those who are indarkness.

The context in which we are told this isvery thought-provoking. The apostle has justbeen speaking in chapter 4 of the Lord’s returnto the earth, of the resurrection, and of thegathering together of those who “are alive andremain” at this time. The sense is that thecoming of the Lord and the gathering of thesaints is contemporary with the apparent peaceand safety—a peace and safety that is to befollowed by destruction just as we read of it inEzekiel chapter 38.

This is the pattern of events also given to usin Revelation 16:15-16. The Lord will comeupon the world “as a thief.” There will beblessing for those who watch (compare 1Thess. 5:6), and who keep their garments—after which he will gather the nations toArmageddon.

The sixth vial of Revelation 16:12-16, thustakes us through the steps that brings events tothe final crisis of world history. It is thecountdown to Armageddon.

Jordan Gulf States such as Qatar, Pakistan,Turkey and other Islamic countries have eithermade peace agreements with Israel, or arediscussing the possibility of normalizingrelations. It has been reported that Israel’s ArielSharon had discussions with as many as elevenArab leaders at the U.N. in New York recently.

For the moment, terrorism remains thechief obstacle to our seeing Ezekiel’sconditions of security upon the mountains ofIsrael. The question then is, what factors mightbe brought to bear so as to remove thatobstacle?

In Volume 14, issue No 2 of The BibleMagazine, there is a comment relevant to thisquestion in the Milestones Update on page 23.It links with what we pointed out earlier in thisarticle. Don Pearce wrote:

“...the Lord Jesus knows the true intents ofthe heart and has declared the truth longago:“And I saw the woman drunken with theblood of the saints, and with the blood ofthe martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, Iwondered with great admiration... And inher was found the blood of prophets, andof saints, and of all that were slain upon theearth” (Rev. 17:6; 18:24).“The Palestinians have been working withthe Vatican—a matter we expound inMilestones 2000 and show a cartoon fromthe Israeli view point. Here is a cartoonwhich was entitled Holding the key toPalestinian aspirations, that appeared inan Arab publication. It shows that bothArab and Israeli see that the Pope has thekey to the Arab desire to control Jerusalem,their hoped for capital of their desiredPalestinian State.”

We include these cartoons above—makingthe point again that the real key to the situation

Both Israel and the Palestiniansrecognize who holds the key to asettlement of their warfare. It isRome, as both cartoons on the leftshow. The top one is from TheJerusalem Post and shows Arafatholding the cross (symbol of thechurch) as the key. Below left is acartoon from an Arab publicationshowing who holds the key toPalestinian aspirations. TheVatican has been a strongsupporter of the Palestinian cause -but what happens when it becomesobvious that the policy is notbearing fruit? The Vatican willturn to its traditional supporters inEurope, leaving the Palestinians tofend for themselves!

The Key toPeace & Safety?

The key to Jerusalem — and to peace?Benedict meets Ashkenazi chief Rabbi

Benedict meets Sephardic chief Rabbi


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e are aware from a number of Bibleprophecies that the catalyst for thebattle of Armageddon will be the

invasion of Israel by Gog and his allies. Ezekielspeaks of Gog coming up “against my peopleof Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall bein the latter days, and I will bring thee againstmy land...” (Ezek. 38:16), whilst Zechariahspeaks of the scene in these terms: “For I willgather all nations against Jerusalem to battle.”Another passage that comes to mind is Joel 3:2.

In Psalm 83 the hatred of Israel’s ancientenemies is graphically portrayed, and thesame spirit will be manifest in the last days.

“For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: andthey that hate thee have lifted up thehead... They have said, Come, and let uscut them off from being a nation; that thename of Israel may be no more inremembrance. For they have consultedtogether with one consent: they areconfederate against thee” (Psalm83:2,4,5).

Whilst Ezekiel 38 speaks of Gog coming“to take a spoil, and to take a prey,” there isno question that the hatred of nations againstGod’s people will be a major factor in theinvasion.

As far as Israel’s enemies are concerned,it is not just that they will wish to invade andconquer, they will wish to obliterate thenation from the face of the earth, just like inold times.

In this regard, it is highly significant thatin recent times anti-Semitism, particularly inEurope, has been on the rise.

It has been said that 11/9/01 was “the daythat changed the world.” Arising out of thatterrible day, a great change has come overthe alignment of nations. The Tarshish

powers of USA, Great Britain, and Australiahave consolidated their alliance, whilst on theother hand the European NATO powers havetaken a different course in their attitudetowards Iraq and Israel.

Whilst the USA in particular has become amajor supporter of Israel, the WesternEuropean powers are becoming increasinglyvocal in their support for the Palestinian causeand in consequence are much more lukewarmtowards Israel.

Nations worldwide are becoming

increasingly frustrated and alarmed by thedisruption to everyday life from terroristthreats or activity. For a number of nations(particularly in Europe), they lay the root causeof terrorist activity at the feet of Israel (and byextension, the US support for Israel).

Europe’s view is—if Israel would only bemore accommodating in their attitude to thePalestinian cause, then terrorism from the likesof Bin Laden and his Al Qaeda network and

similar would greatly diminish, perhapseven cease.

But Israel has no intention ofsurrendering its statehood to the Palestiniansor anyone. We raise the question therefore—could the situation arise where the Europeannations in particular, utterly fed up with thefrustrations of terrorists with no solution inthe Middle East, and strongly opposing theUSA’s persistent backing of Israel, decide tocooperate with Russia to remove the causeof all the Palestinian/terrorist agitation—Israel!!!?

It was the wicked high priest, Caiaphas,who said, “It is expedient for us, that oneman should die for the people, and that thewhole nation perish not,” in order to achievestability and peace (on their terms, ofcourse!).

European Anti-SemitismRecent newspaper articles and comments

in other publications show only too clearlythe very distinct shift that is now takingplace in Europe’s attitude to Jewry andIsrael. The following quotes clearly illustratethe issue.

We feel it is important to quote at length

By John King BRIGHTON, S.AUSTRALIA.

“our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ”

Anti-Semitism on the RiseThe increase in European anti-Semitism is a sign ofour times. It is to be expected as a foretaste of whatis yet to come when Gog prepares his company

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from these articles, to highlight the anti-Semiticattitude developing in Europe, which the Biblereveals will one day be translated into awholesale invasion of the Jewish state.• Israel and Europe—Old Wounds Re-open

In Europe, it is not very safe to be a Jew.How could this be?The explanation is not that difficult to find.

What we are seeing is pent-up anti-Semitism,the release—with Israel as the trigger—of amillennium-old urge that powerfully infectedand shaped European history.

What is odd is not the anti-Semitism oftoday but its relative absence during the pasthalf-century. That was the historical anomaly.

Holocaust shame kept the demon corked forthat half-century. But now the atonement ispast. The genie is out again.

This time, however, it is moresophisticated. It is not a blanket hatred of Jews.

Jews can be tolerated, even accepted, butthey must know their place. Jews are fine solong as they are powerless, passive, andpicturesque. What is intolerable is Jewishassertiveness, the Jewish refusal to acceptvictim-hood.

And nothing so embodies that as the Jewishstate (Charles Krauthammer—The WashingtonPost, April 26th 2002).• Facing Europe’s Anti-Semitism

As elsewhere in Europe, where harshcriticism of Israel is now commonplace andattacks on synagogues are on the rise, thepolitical incentives for anti-Semitic appeals inGermany seem to be growing even as the post-Holocaust taboos fade. One recent surveysuggested that 15% to 20% of Germans still areopenly anti-Semitic and another 30% passivelybigoted. The sad reality is that anti-Semitismhas no more died away in Europe than racismhas in the United States... (The WashingtonPost, 17th June, 2002).• Israel Slams European Anti-Semitism

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon hasaccused Europe of “collective anti-Semitism.”In an online interview he accused EU states ofnot doing enough to solve the problem.

In a series of damning comments on theEUpolitix Web site, Ariel Sharon stronglycriticised European anti-Semitic sentiments,which he suggested were inherent on thecontinent. “What we are facing in Europe is ananti-Semitism that has always existed and itreally is not a new phenomenon,” Sharon said,“This anti-Semitism exists and what pushes it isa ‘collective anti-Semitism’ that incorporatesIsrael into this equation.”

Responding to a recent European Unionpoll which said some 60% of Europeansbelieve Israel to be the greatest threat to worldsecurity, the Israeli Prime Minister said thatsurging anti-Semitism across Europe was anattempt to undermine Israel’s right to defenditself against its enemies (DW—World.DE,Deutsche Welle, 25th November 2003).

• Extracts from The Report on European Anti-Semitism that an EU Group Decided Not toPublish

The assumption of close ties between theUS and Israel gives rise to a further motive foran anti-Semitic attitude. Amongst the politicalleft, anti-Americanism and anti-Zionism arevery closely tied together.

In the form of anti-Semitism it could besaid that the tradition of demonising Jews in thepast is now being transferred to the state ofIsrael. In this way traditional anti-Semitism is translated into a new form lessdeprived of legitimacy, whose employmenttoday in Europe could become part of thepolitical mainstream.• Hatreds, Ancient and Modern

...whilst Herzl and most Zionists after himbelieved that the emergence of a Jewish statewould end anti-Semitism, an increasingnumber of people today, including some Jews,are convinced that anti-Semitism will end onlywith the disappearance of the Jewish state.

The world, we are told by friend and foealike, increasingly hates Jews because itincreasingly hates Israel. Surely this is what theBelgian ambassador had in mind when heinformed me during his visit that anti-Semitismin his country would cease once Belgians nolonger had to watch pictures on television ofIsraeli Jews oppressing Palestinian Arabs.

Despite the differences between them,however, anti-Americanism in the Islamicworld and anti-Americanism in Europe are infact linked, and both bear an uncannyresemblance to anti-Semitism (NatanSharansky, Minister for Jerusalem andDiaspora Affairs in the Government of Israel).

Man Proposes but God DisposesAfter reading these extracts, it is not hard to

envisage, therefore, in the not too distantfuture, that the scenario of the destruction ofGod’s people will be very high on theEuropean agenda.

But the nations know not the thoughts ofYahweh. “For thus saith the LORD of hosts;After the glory hath he sent me unto the nationswhich spoiled you: for he that toucheth youtoucheth the apple of his eye. For, behold, I willshake mine hand upon them, and they shall bea spoil to their servants” (Zech. 2:8-9).

“And it shall come to pass at the same timewhen Gog shall come against the land of Israel,saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come upin my face” (Ezek. 38:18).

May the day soon dawn when Israel’senemies shall be no more and when “ten menshall take hold out of all languages of thenations, even shall take hold of the skirt of himthat is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: forwe have heard that God is with you” (Zech.8:23).

IMAGES OF ANTI-SEMITISM IN

RUSSIA & EUROPE

While a graphic (above)depicts both Arab andEuropean anti-Semitism,pictures of Jewish gravespainted over with swastikasare seen in France (aboveleft) and in St. Petersburg,Russia (on the left). Anincrease in such incidents isnoted, and is fed by biasedmedia reporting aboutIsrael.


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By Graham Pearce WRITTEN IN 1980

y the guidance of Bible prophecyJohn Thomas wrote: “There neverhas been such an age of conquestas that which will soon open uponthe world; and as to the

establishment of European freedom andindependence, the war to be initiated is thesetting in of an overwhelming inundation thatwill submerge them under one of the mostterrible and scorching despotisms that everwrung the heart of nations” (Exposition ofDaniel, 1854). How did he know this?

There is much prophecy concerning thedays that lie ahead. In Israel’s ‘eventide’ oftrouble, before the day of Zion’s glory, there isto exist the replicas of the Assyrian andBabylonian powers that swept over the thenknown world. So we speak of the latter-dayAssyrian; and the final phase of the Babylonianpower. The characteristics of these nationsdescribed in the Bible, and their attitude toIsrael, are to be repeated. This is one of themajor themes of Bible prophecy. Babylonstarted as Babel, Genesis chapter 10, withrebellion against God, and it passes throughmany phases of the kingdoms of men untildestroyed as Babylon theGREAT by Christ and the saints.The Old Testament prophetswere quite clear that therewould be a final Babylonishpower in opposition to Christ.This is well expressed in theImage seen by Nebuchad-nezzar, which concerned “whatshall be in the latter days.”This great image “whosebrightness was excellent... andthe form thereof terrible” hasnever yet stood on its feet. It isto be assembled in the latterdays and will have aBabylonish head to direct it,and it will stand on the iron-clay feet and toes of Europe.

So there is to be a finalconfederacy of the nationsrepresented by the metals of theImage and a Babylonish headto direct them. This is the

confederacy to be destroyed by the little Stonepower of Christ and the saints. Again, thecontinuance of the spirit of Babylon throughthe “seven times” (2,520 years) is also declaredin the fourth chapter of Daniel. The Babylonishtree is cut down, but the root and stump remain,banded with brass and iron for the seven times.In other words, the Greek and Romandominions would all belong to the root ofBabylon. The latter-day Babylon is to attemptto crush Israel, but this time it will not succeed.Jeremiah tells us the situation will be differentfrom what happened in his time. Jeremiahchapters 50 and 51 speak of events then soon tohappen, and also of events afar off, when “inthose days, and in that time, saith the LORD, theiniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and thereshall be none; and the sins of Judah, and theyshall not be found: for I will pardon them whomI reserve” (50:20).

This is salvation both for the ten tribes andthe two tribes, which has not yet happened. Ofthis time, Jeremiah later says, “†he portion ofJacob is not like them (the idol makers); for heis the former of all things; and Israel is the rodof his inheritance: the LORD (Yahweh) of hostsis his name. Thou art my battle axe andweapons of war; for with thee will I break in

pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroykingdoms” (51:19, 20). And the section endswith making Babylon, the ‘destroyingmountain’ a ‘burnt mountain’ rolled down therocks. Such language tells us we must belooking for the appearance of a final phase ofancient Babylon, a power with the samecharacteristics and hostility to Israel.

We have several descriptions of theChaldean Babylonian power that dominated thethen-known world.

JoelJoel in his 2nd chapter describes the

invasion of Israel by the Babylonians.“A day of clouds and of thick darkness, asthe morning spread upon the mountains: agreat people and a strong; there hath notbeen ever the like, neither shall be any moreafter it, even to the years of manygenerations. A fire devoureth before them;and behind them a flame burneth: the land isas the garden of Eden before them, andbehind them a desolate wilderness; yea, andnothing shall escape them.“Before their face the people shall be muchpained: all faces shall gather blackness.“The earth shall quake before them; the

BABYLON THETHE LATTER DAY

As this relief from Nineveh shows, the Assyrians were noted for their warlike character andcruelty. Impaled victims can be seen top centre while others are slaughtered below.

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heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moonshall be dark, and the stars shall withdrawtheir shining: And the LORD shall utter hisvoice before his army: for his camp is verygreat: for he is strong that executeth hisword: for the day of the LORD is great andvery terrible; and who can abide it?” (vv. 2,3, 6, 10, 11).

HabakkukHabakkuk, after speaking of wickedness in

Israel, has a similar message:“For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitterand hasty nation, which shall march throughthe breadth of the land, to possess thedwellingplaces that are not theirs.“They are terrible and dreadful: theirjudgment and their dignity shall proceed ofthemselves.“Their horses also are swifter than theleopards, and are more fierce than theevening wolves: and their horsemen shallspread themselves, and their horsemen shallcome from far; they shall fly as the eaglethat hasteth to eat.“They shall come all for violence: theirfaces shall sup up as the east wind, and theyshall gather the captivity as the sand.“And they shall scoff at the kings, and theprinces shall be a scorn unto them: theyshall deride every strong hold; for they shallheap dust, and take it” (1:6-10).

Habakkuk then makes it plain in his nextchapter that a similar power would exist at theend of prophetic times: “And the LORD answeredme, and said, Write the vision, and make it plainupon tables, that he may run that readeth it. Forthe vision is yet for an appointed time, but at theend it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry,wait for it” (vv.2-3). In our day the vision isbeginning to ‘speak’. This Babylonish rulingpower that is to arise is described in the followingwords:

“Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine,he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home,who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is asdeath, and cannot be satisfied, but gatherethunto him all nations, and heapeth unto himall people... Woe to him that increaseth thatwhich is not his! how long? and to him thatladeth himself with thick clay! Woe to him

that coveteth an evil covetousness to hishouse, that he may set his nest on high, thathe may be delivered from the power of evil!Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood,and stablisheth a city by iniquity!” (vv. 5, 6,9, 12).

IsaiahIsaiah gives us a similar picture. Chapter 13

is the burden of Chaldean Babylon:“Behold, I will stir up the Medes againstthem... And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms,the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall

be as when God overthrew Sodom andGomorrah” (vv. 17, 19).

Then in the next chapter, in a very similarway to what we saw in Habakkuk, the prophetpictures a latter-day Assyrio-Babylonish power,and events still in the future. That the events arestill in the future is clear from verses 1-3. It is ata time when the LORD has mercy on Jacob;strangers shall cleave to the house of Jacob andshall bring Israel back to their own land; Israelshall take their oppressors captive and rule overthem. This did not happen in the restorationunder Zerubbabel and Nehemiah; they were

GREATLUCIFER


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subject people paying tribute. So the proverb orparable that follows against “the king ofBabylon” is something yet future, modelled onevents in the past. This is how the latter-dayBabylonish power is described: “He who smotethe people in wrath with a continual stroke, hethat ruled the nations in anger” (v. 6); “Thatmade the world as a wilderness, and destroyedthe cities thereof; that opened not the house of hisprisoners” (v. 17).

The chapter in Isaiah also tells us of how thisPower and its subject people will invade the landof Israel to establish its rule over the world fromJerusalem, and defy the God of Israel.

“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer(Day Star), son of the morning! how art thoucut down to the ground, which didst weakenthe nations! For thou hast said in thineheart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exaltmy throne above the stars of God: I will sitalso upon the mount of the congregation, inthe sides of the north: I will ascend above theheights of the clouds; I will be like the mostHigh” (vv. 12-14).

This is parallel with Daniel 11:45: “He shallplant the tabernacles of his palace between theseas in the glorious holy mountain.” Sennacheribthe Assyrian was the type of the latter-dayLucifer. “By the multitude of my chariots am Icome up to the height of the mountains, to thesides of Lebanon;... I will enter into the height ofhis border.” To which boasting Isaiah says:“Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed?and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice,and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against theHoly One of Israel” (37:24, 23). The ‘stars ofGod’ refer to the rulers of Israel against whichLucifer exalted himself. No doubtNebuchadnezzar, like Sennacherib, expressed thesame thoughts; and Belshazzar also despised theHoly One of Israel; and so will it be in the future.

Here then, written in the prophets long ago isthe outline of things we see shaping in our day.John Thomas saw accurately this outline ofevents from his study of the prophets; and hehoped for an immediate fulfilment. But thecountries were not ready in his day. Whattremendous developments there have been in thefurther 150 years. Russia then was acomparatively backward country; the MiddleEast was only beginning to stir from its longcenturies of desolation. We can trace the progressof the 150 years, and more particularly theamazingly rapid changes of the past 25 years.Surely we are approaching the final shaping ofthings long prophesied in the scripture.

Like John Thomas, we want it all to happen inthe next year or so. We do not know the detail orpace of the unfolding drama. We must keepourselves diligently watching—the watchmen onthe walls of Jerusalem who “keep not silence,and give him no rest, till he establish, and till hemake Jerusalem a praise in the earth” (Isa. 62:6,7).

Knowing the terrible time that lies aheadbefore Jerusalem can become the city of peace,we should enter into the spirit of Jesus’ words inLuke 21:34-36:—

“And take heed to yourselves, lest at anytime your hearts be overcharged withsurfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares ofthis life, and so that day come upon youunawares.“For as a snare shall it come on all themthat dwell on the face of the whole earth.“Watch ye therefore, and pray always, thatye may be accounted worthy to escape allthese things that shall come to pass, and tostand before the Son of man.”

“Worthy to escape”—that is what we shouldbe attending to at this late hour. Those who aregetting involved in helping the world in itspresent distress, are losing their way. Ours is toprepare for the great work of regeneration underChrist. The present world is doomed, and itsanguish and suffering will increase. We can besure from the prophetic record that the saints willbe gathered before the great confederacy invadesthe land.

The Sorceries of BabylonNo power can conquer and govern by force

alone. Religion was a big element in thegovernment of the ancient Babylonian empire.Isaiah refers to this in his 47th chapter: “Butthese two things shall come to thee in a momentin one day, the loss of children, and widowhood:they shall come upon thee in their perfection forthe multitude of thy sorceries, and for the greatabundance of thine enchantments. Thou artwearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let nowthe astrologers, the stargazers, the monthlyprognosticators, stand up, and save thee fromthese things that shall come upon thee” (Isa.47:9, 13). Jeremiah describes how her wineintoxicated the nations (including Israel):“Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD’S

hand, that made all the earth drunken: thenations have drunken of her wine; therefore thenations are mad” (Jer. 51:7). Thus her

philosophies and religion had been used in herconquest of the nations. Almost identicallanguage to that in Isaiah and Jeremiah is used inthe book of Revelation of the latter-day Babylon;words in chapters 17 and 18 with which we arefamiliar. The latter-day Babylonish power is abeast with seven heads and ten horns carrying aharlot. She has a golden cup in her hand: “Allnations have drunk of the wine of the wrath ofher fornication, and the kings of the earth havecommitted fornication with her.” ModernBabylon’s intoxicating wine is similar to that ofold Babylon; she has her priestcraft, herconfession, her rituals, the worship of the manygods, including the Woman and Child. We can besure that the Roman Catholic power will increasein influence in the world of today; her theme ofpeace and justice, her ritual, her systematicforgiveness of sin, her scope for intrigue in everycountry through her priests and ambassadors: allthis will be part of the paraphernalia of theBabylon power that holds the nations in its grip.So we know that there must be reproachmentbetween Russia and the Vatican, in the buildingup of the Image confederacy.

The Third RomeRussia is the successor to the old Roman

Byzantine Empire (see Rome and Jerusalempublished by CSSS). She has for centuriescherished the idea of restoring the Roman empireand establishing the Third Rome inConstantinople—modern Istanbul. This webelieve will happen, with the dominant civilpower in Constantinople and the religious centrein Rome. This is the time of the standing up ofthe great Image, forming a European and MiddleEast confederacy, a phase prior to the finalsupport of the ten horns for the Papacy afterArmageddon.

Taken from Milestones 1979-80

CONSTANTINOPLE IN THE EU?A SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENT PLANNED

Turkish & EU flagsfly at the entrance to

Istanbul’s (ie Constan-tinople’s) bazaar

The entrance of Turkey into the European Union would be anevent of more significance than most people realize. The road hasnow opened to this possibility with the agreement that talks shouldcommence. Not only would this place Constantinople and Rome inthe same political fold (an event anticipated by students of Bibleprophecy for over 150 years), but it also marks the entry of thatforgotten people, the Assyrians!

The Assyrian people maintained an identity for centuries, butmany of them were massacred by the Turks in 1915 because theyjoined the allies during World War One. Yet another massacre tookplace in 1933 and many fled to other countries (including the USand Europe). A remnant stillexists however, located inTurkey and northern Iraq.The flag shown here includesthe Turkish, EU andAssyrian flags. The entry ofTurkey therefore brings theseelements together. Russia isalso moving closer to Europeand will combine to form theLatter-Day Assyrian.


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hese were the infamous words ofPontius Pilate (John 18:38). Hewas Rome’s representative inJerusalem and his job was to keep

the peace. Pilate’s words were in reply to Jesus’statement that “every one that is of the truthheareth my voice” and those words deserved amore thoughtful response. Pilate’s answer, firstand foremost exposed his own shallowness andthat of his court, but it may also have beenrelated to the circumstances under which hehad to do his job. There was a lot of pressure,the Jews wanted Jesus condemned to death bycrucifixion, they had a small window of time inwhich to do it and they were quite ready tobreak the rules to get it done.

When Pilate uttered the words “What isTruth?” he may have meant ‘what has the truthgot to do with anything that happens aroundhere?’ In other words, what happens at thisjudgment seat has little to do with facts, and alot to do with pacifying the Jews and assuringthe well-being of the Judge. That point of viewgains support from the context, for after askingJesus “What is truth?”, Pilate immediatelystates to the Jews, “I find in him no fault at all.”Then just minutes later, with no furtherevidence provided, but under the pressure ofloud and angry voices, he delivered Jesus to becrucified (John 19:16). It is sad to see people inpositions of authority so ready to corrupt goodjudgment by ignoring the facts and giving in toloud and powerful voices.

As such, Pilate’s judgment was very bad,but typically human. There are other things thatcorrupt good judgment besides intimidation.Remember the Bakkers? Jimmy and TammyBakker (opposite) were a husband and wifeteam that regularly performed on TV in the1980s, all the while claiming to represent theGod of Christianity and thereby gaining thetrust of millions. Truth, however, had little todo with their act or their everyday lifestyle, Infact, they profited by deceit. In public life theywere mere actors (hypocrites) that bore littleresemblance to their real selves. It was just amatter of time however, before the truth cameout and they were exposed for their covetouspractices and licentious ways. This bold andhorrible example brought disgrace and shameupon the ranks of their Evangelical TVministry and destroyed any claim it may havehad to the Truth.

Pilate may have coined the phrase, “Whatis Truth?” but people in places of authority andinfluence are regularly declaring by theiractions that ‘Truth’ has little to do withanything that happens around them. Considerthe Vatican and the way it regularly determineswhether its notable servants get to become‘Saints’. The Vatican, like the Bakkerorganization claims to be Bible based andChrist centered, thereby providing reason forthe public to believe that they hold the truth inhigh esteem. It may be that the Vatican hasbeen in business for such a long time that theyno longer see any need to check out theirpractice with the Bible (If anyone thinks thatthis article is being too hard on the CatholicChurch, they should read the book, Papal Sin,Structure of Deceit; Doubleday 2000, writtenby Gary Wills, one of their own.).

Sainthood has been and continues to be awonder worker for the Roman Catholic Churchin which it can influence the citizens of anothercountry by creating folk heroes out of formerCatholics. But is there any Truth associatedwith it? Is this idea of sainthood just a mythalbeit sanctified by the Catholic Church? How

could one know for sure whether a deceasedperson of Catholic persuasion could answer theprayers of the living and work a miracle in theirlife? The Vatican gives the appearance of truthin this regard by the time it takes and thenumber of levels in their organizationalhierarchy that have to give their blessing. Thereis however, a much simpler method of knowingthe truth of this matter and it is readilyavailable to most people—through reading theBible! Regardless of their claims to thecontrary, without the Bible, the CatholicChurch is nothing.

The Bible states that when a person dies,they exhibit no signs of life which is theobvious meaning of death—lifeless. Further, itteaches that apart from the resurrection of thebody to life, a person from the moment of theirdeath will remain unconscious—forever. Adead person, even a good dead person, cannothear the prayers of others and cannot answerthe prayers of others, let alone perform amiracle. Surely the Bible is vindicated when itstates,

“Put not your trust in princes, nor in theson of man, in whom there is no help. Hisbreath goeth forth, he returneth to hisearth: in that very day his thoughts perish”(Psa.146:3,4).

Again it states,“For the living know that they shall die:but the dead know not any thing, neitherhave they any more a reward; for thememory of them is forgotten. Also theirlove, and their hatred, and their envy, isnow perished; neither have they any morea portion for ever in any thing that is doneunder the sun.” (Eccl.9:6)

Consider this statement of the Apostle Paulfound in the New Testament, “For if the deadrise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christbe not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet inyour sins. Then they also which are fallenasleep in Christ are perished” (1 Cor 15:16-18).When Christians die they ‘fall asleep’ in thesense that they are unconscious. They are not inheaven looking down, or for that matter in helllooking up, they are asleep and unaware ofanything happening around them. The apostlestates, that apart from resurrection they haveperished. From the Bible’s point of viewtherefore, the Catholic teaching concerning thecommunion and intercession of saints is false

By Frank Abel SHELBURNE, ONT.

TV Preachers Jimmy & Tammy Bakker.Truth had nothing to do with the act!

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stated the parable, “Again, the kingdom ofheaven is like unto a merchant man, seekinggoodly pearls: Who, when he had found onepearl of great price, went and sold all that hehad, and bought it” (Matt 13:45-46). What didthis pearl of great price represent except thebody of revealed truth which we sometimesrefer to as ‘THE TRUTH’? The merchant manknew what he was looking for and wasprepared to give up everything else in order to

purchase that one pearl. Has this parable anyexpression in our own life? Have we everdiscovered something so precious that wewere prepared to sell everything else in orderto get it? On the other hand is theresomething in our life that we would not beprepared to sell, no matter what?

The discovery of an element of the truthoccurs when one gains an insight into thecorrect understanding of a section of theScripture such as, “A soft answer turnethaway wrath: but grievous words stir upanger” (Prov 15:1). It may be that the readerwill have to ‘try it on’ before wearing it, butonce it is seen that a soft, thoughtful,unexpected answer mellows an otherwiseheated discussion, the proverb will bedeclared to be the truth and the truth will bepurchased.

In recent times with many more peopleproceeding on to higher education, Truth hasbeen challenged anew in a more insidious way.People have learned of the value of learning theTruth about things in many different areas.Because of discovering the truth concerning thelaws of motion people were able to travel to themoon and back. Many highly educated peopleare employed in studying to find the truth incountless areas of human endeavour because ofthe advantage to those who discover it first. Asa result, one might expect that ‘truth’ wouldalways be honored in the highest levels of oureducational institutions. However, one verynotable example to the contrary amplyillustrates how fickle we are in our search forTruth, for human thinking is often purposely

should value the truth more than we probablydo. The scriptures abound with examples ofpeople who had the opportunity to ‘live thetruth’ in their life and didn’t, only to come to alater time when they greatly desired to do so,and couldn’t. God will not be mocked in thesematters. He wants our best time, our bestresources, our best efforts, and not the leftoversof time, energy and resources that are oftenoffered in their place. The Psalms speak of the

value of Scriptural precepts in this way,“More to be desired are they than gold,yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also thanhoney and the honeycomb. Moreover bythem is thy servant warned: and in keepingof them there is great reward” (Psalm19:10, 11).

Those words only apply to the Truth to befound in the Scriptures. One could nevertruthfully make the same claim for any otherbook whether the subject be Physics,Horticulture, History or that of any otherhuman endeavour.

Buy the Truth and Don’t Sell it!If while reading the Scriptures you made a

rule for yourself thatevery new element ofTruth you discover youwould record it in abook, the notes youwould be keeping wouldsoon acquire greatpersonal value. TheBible recommends thisprinciple in thefollowing words,

“Buy the truth, andsell it not; alsowisdom, andinstruction, andunderstanding.” (Prov23:23)

Normally we buythings that we value andsell things that we valueless. Jesus recognizedthis principle when he

and impossible. Those who believe it and makeno attempt to verify it with the Truth of theWord of God become victims of their owndelusion.

Now think about this,In this area, the problem of truthfulness is

not just a Catholic problem, for in most of theProtestant churches similar delusionconcerning the state of the dead is the rule.Who naturally loves the truth so much, thatthey would rather believe what the Bibleclearly teaches rather than the more popularidea that the Christian dead have ‘gonehome’ to a better place and wouldn’t want tocome back? If you love truth, step asidefrom those who don’t, and while standing upfor the truth show as many as you can thedifference between right and wrong.

No one is exempt from allowingcircumstances to erode their sense of truth.When in daily life you find that you have toturn off your conscience because of what isbefore your eyes then you might also say,along with Pilate, “What is truth?” in thesense of ‘What has truth got to do with whathappens around here?’ There are manyoccupations, businesses, and societies wherewhat really happens in daily life, or the waythings really get done, has little regard forthe ‘rules’, or the truth. Who wants topractice things that will set them at odds withfellow employees, parents, children, siblings,and friends? Who wants to be slowed down byregulations and the ‘proper way’ of doingbusiness if there is a quicker, easier andpossibly a more profitable route?

We all, in a sense, are predisposed to onlytalk about and do those things that make us feelcomfortable in the presence of other people.Our desire for social acceptance can be sostrong that we may find that sacrificing thetruth has become our way of life. Hence, wefind people will readily acknowledge that theydon’t agree with everything that their churchteaches, but nevertheless stay with their churchand bury their heads when something happensthey don’t like. Regardless of what they maysay in opposition, those people are reallydeclaring, “What has truth really got to do withanything that happens in my life?” Or, is it thatthey do not have the faith and conviction tostand up for what they believe?

The Lord Jesus Christ obviously expectedmore of his disciples when he said, “He thatloveth father or mother more than me is notworthy of me: and he that loveth son ordaughter more than me is not worthy of me.And he that taketh not his cross, and followethafter me, is not worthy of me” (Matt 10:37-38).The Apostle Paul also expected more when hesaid, “It is a faithful saying: For if we be deadwith him, we shall also live with him: If wesuffer, we shall also reign with him: if we denyhim, he also will deny us: If we believe not, yethe abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself (2Tim 2:11-13).

There are good reasons why each of us

Sainthood: A Wonder Worker for theRoman Catholic Church.

Margaret Mead argued against Christian ethics, andcontributed to moral decline.


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limited, unreasonably biased andunpredictable.

The research of the Americananthropologist Margaret Mead is a case inpoint. In her book Coming of Age in Samoafirst published in 1928 she argued that theChristian code of ethics, in particular that partprohibiting premarital sex, was a prime factorin ‘Westerners’ suffering guilt, stress andadolescent turmoil (Ian Taylor; In the Minds ofMen; Pg. 417; TFE Publishing; 1984).Obtaining a doctorate through her research, shebecame a guru on the subject and for the next40 years she aggressively resisted Christianmoral standards. Her thesis was hard to resist,for many people wanted justification to severthe restraints that Bible teaching put on theirbehavior. However, a man named DerekFreeman in 1983 followed up on her researchand published a book entitled, Margaret Meadand Samoa: the Making and Unmaking of anAnthropological Myth. His research illustratedthat Mead’s work was biased, faulty anduntrue. However, in the forty years when thereal truth was hidden, much damage was doneand those who were more impressed by the‘wisdom of man’ than the ‘wisdom of God’paid the price.

It is important that some consideration begiven to Jesus’ words in the conversation hehad with Pilate to see the significance of whathe said and possibly gain further insight intoreasons for Pilate’s response. Jesus wasreplying to Pilate’s earlier question, “Art thou aking then?” (John 18:37). Jesus’ answer was,

“Thou sayest that I am a king. To this endwas I born, and for this cause came I intothe world, that I should bear witness untothe truth. Every one that is of the truthheareth my voice.”

Yes, even before Jesus’ birth and existence, theangel announced that he would be a king;

“He shall be great, and shall be called theSon of the Highest: and the Lord God shallgive unto him the throne of his fatherDavid: And he shall reign over the houseof Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom thereshall be no end” (Luke 1:32-33).

This salutation which was given to his motherwas a burden for Herod the king who reignedlong before Pilate came to his position ofauthority (Matt.2:3). The matter of Jesus beingKing in the jurisdiction of another king was anobvious threat to all in authority. Herod hadbeen threatened. The Jewish authorities werethreatened (John 11:48). Pilate was threatened(John 19:8). That point must have weighed onPilate’s mind and quite possibly it made himmore inclined to side with the Jewish leaders.

Jesus’ remark, “Every one that is of thetruth heareth my voice” seems to have sparkedPilate’s words. It is unlikely that Pilateunderstood Jesus’ statement, for even many ofhis disciples did not fully understand some ofhis sayings (John 6:66). Jesus had highlightedthe word ‘truth’ in his ministry and had said,

“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no

man cometh unto the Father, but by me”(John 14:6).

In this sense, ‘the truth’ must have meant thatessential Truth that a person must come toknow and recognize in order to be a bonafidedisciple of the Lord. This Truth is not to beconfused with truth in its ordinary and broadestmeaning. Truth in this narrower, albeit greatersense, was illustrating that the life of Jesus wasthe Truth in all respects, and the same could besaid of no other man. Those who recognizedJesus in this sense heard his voice (John 10:27).

Pilate at the time had little opportunity toponder the depths of Jesus’ statement althoughhe may have done so later on. Pilate had a briefmeeting with the only man who could lay claim

to being the Son of God, with a man sorighteous that death could not hold him in thegrave, and a man destined to become the Kingof Israel and of the world. His claim to infamywas that while knowing in himself that he wasrighteous and innocent he sentenced him todeath by crucifixion. Pilate held a position inthe Roman hierarchy where ‘Truth’ was a minorfactor and where in everyday matters no oneelse was very concerned either. Thatenvironment and those circumstances sweptaway any chance of benefiting from his meetingwith the King of the Jews.

Are we allowing our environment andcircumstances to rob us of finding the Truth andeternal life thereby?

When Jesus stood at Caesar’s bar, Pilate asked him:“Art thou the king of the Jews?” He answered: “Mykingdom is not of this world; if it were, then would myassociates fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews:but my kingdom is not from this now.” Pilate thereforesaid to him: “Art thou king, then?” Jesus answered:“Thou sayest; for I am king. I was born for this (eis touto),and for this I came into the world, that I might witness tothe truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice.”Pilate said unto him: “What is truth?” (John 18:37). Ah,Pilate, thou, like myriads beside thee, knowest not thatvoice, though it was witnessed in thy presence. The truthwas confessed (1 Tim. 6:13) before thee, but thou didst notunderstand it, because thou wast not of the truth. Let thereader hear the voice of the king: “I came into the worldthat I might witness to the truth.” Now hear what he saysin another place: “I am sent to preach the kingdom of God” (Luke 4:43). He preached it throughthe length and breadth of Judea, announcing to the people the Kingdom of God, and that he wasking thereof. He filled the land with the sound of his claims to the throne of David as the “bornking of the Jews” (Matt. 2:2). The people heard him gladly; and, admitting his pretensions to bejust, were ready for revolt against Caesar, and to make him king (John 6:15). The chief priestsbecame alarmed at the current of the popular mind, and apprehended the interference of theRomans (John 11:48). They procured his apprehension at length, and accused him before Pilateof perverting the nation from its allegiance to Caesar (Luke 23:2), and affirming that he was kingof the Jews (John 19:21). By the passage above quoted, we find Pilate endeavouring to elicit from

One, a king, even the King of the Jews: is this the truth?” Jesus confessed, and denied not,although it was hazardous at the bar of Caesar, the de facto king of the Jews (John 19:15), to averthat he was himself king by right. His life had been jeopardized thirty-five years and threemonths before by the inquiry—“Where is he that is born king of the Jews?” Herod, the reigningking of the Jews, who knew that the nation was expecting the birth of a son of David, who wasto reign over them for ever, was alarmed at the intimation that he was actually born. He saw thatthe right of David’s son and the interest of the Herodian dynasty were inimical. He thereforedetermined to destroy him, and so secure the kingdom to his own family by the Christ, orAnointed One’s destruction. The same policy was at work at the condemnation of Jesus. Pilatewas not only the representative of the Roman Majesty which had superseded the Herodian inJudea; but the conservator of the right of the reigning Caesar as king of the Jews. Satisfied thatit was mere envy that moved the chief priests to accuse Jesus of treason against the Romanpower, his policy was to release him, and to appease their clamour. But the policy of the priestsand elders was opposed to this. They saw clearly that if Jesus ascended the throne of David, hewould permit them to have no share in the honours and emoluments of the State. Hence it waswith them, as with Herod, all important to prevent him getting possession of the throne...

PONTIUS PILATEINTERVIEWS

JESUS CHRISTBy John Thomas

The John Ryland Fragment(approx. AD 95) of John’s

Gospel, records Pilate’sinterview


him the t ruth of the matter. As if he said: “They charge you with saying that you are an Anointed

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privately-funded excavation in theCity of David has brought tolight the remains of what may beKing David’s palace. Whether or

not this proves to be the case, the foundationsof a major public building dating from aboutthe 10th Century B.C. are a discovery whichwill help to establish the reality of thekingdoms of David and Solomon in the eyes ofthe world. Some sherds of pottery from thesame period, and an impression of a sealbelonging to a government official in the timeof Jeremiah, are some of the small discoveriesthat help to establish a more solid picture ofJerusalem as it was in those early days.

These finds also serve to remind us that wehave only glimpses of the Kings of Judah whenit comes to archaeological remains. ThePalestinians use this lack of discoveries topromote their story of the “Myth” of theKingdom of Judah, and with it the Bible record.Recently the Muslim guardians of the TempleMount have been engaged in some renovationsto expand the entrance to an undergroundmosque in the area commonly known as“Solomon’s Stables,” and the excavatedmaterial was trucked away and dumped in theKidron Valley at a distance from the Mountitself. An Israeli student persuaded hisprofessors to sift through the remains, and anumber of finds—both large and small—were“excavated.” No Israeli excavations have evertaken place on the Temple Mount itself, so thiswas a unique opportunity to help fill in therecord. With the discovery of a number ofcoins, jewellery fragments, beads, arrowheadsand pieces of mosaic it’s expected that therewill also be some seal impressions of a similarsize.

One of the items of interest in the City ofDavid excavation was a “bulla” connected withthe royal court. Now a bulla is a lump of clay,usually very small, which bears the impressionof a seal. Even today, people sometimes choose

to seal letters and important documents with alump of wax that bears the impression of a ringor stamp. The person receiving the packageknows immediately both who the package isfrom, and whether or not anyone else has seenthe contents. Over many centuries, kings,queens and government officials have put theirseal on treaties and important agreements.Documents such as England’s Magna Carta of1215 and many since bear the seals of kingsand political leaders.

In the days of the kings of Israel and Judah,the positions of scribe and recorder wereimportant ones. We know the names of quite anumber of important government officials,among whom are some who were identified asscribes or recorders for the court. When KingHezekiah dispatched his top officials to hearthe words of Rab-shekah, the Assyrianspokesman for Sennacherib, two of the threehad a position which involved writing orrecording what went on at the court. In Isaiah36:3 Shebna was the scribe, while Joah was therecorder. We believe that the kings were trainedto read and write, as one of their first tasks ongaining the throne, was to write out a copy ofthe book of the law (Deuteronomy 17:18).When writing to people like Sennacherib,

Hezekiah most likely would have simplyaffixed his seal to the document being sent.

Seals came in several forms. They were atype of stamp usually made of semi-preciousstone which was used to make an impressionon a soft material such as wax or clay, whichwould harden and seal the document. Many ofthe impressions which survive today did notjust dry in the air, but in fact were baked by fire—often fire which accompanied the destructionof the document itself. As valuable as these sealimpressions are as evidence of the existence ofthese people, their backs often also preserveimpressions of the papyrus document whichwould have told us so much more, and thestring that tied it together. The Dead Sea scrollsare not accompanied by impressions of seals,because they were not correspondence.

More impressions of these seals from thecourts of Judah and Israel survive than the sealsthemselves. Unfortunately, in many of the earlyexcavations, not much attention was paid tothese insignificant pieces of clay. Many of thebullae that are found today in museums andprivate collections were not discovered in placeduring archaeological digs, but were bought onthe market from people who had perhaps gonecarefully through the dumps, or had found

Seal “Belonging to King Hezekiah (son of) Ahaz, king of Judah”

By Ken Loveridge PRINCE GEORGE, BC.

Two seals inscribed “Amaryahu (son of) Hananyahu servant of Hezekiah”

A


small collections in hoards of what may havebeen documents with attached seals. Most ofthe Dead Sea scrolls came to light after theywere found by Arab shepherds.

The bulla discovered in the City of Davidwas that of “Jehucal, son of Shelemiah, son ofShevi.” Perhaps he is the man mentioned inJeremiah 37:3 and 38:1. He was sent withZephaniah to Jeremiah by King Zedekiah tosay, “Pray now unto the LORD our God for us.”The discovery of small personal items that canbe linked to scripture events can help us to seethem as real people. These seals served as theirpersonal signatures.

Another of the clay seal impressions, orbullae, which is both significant and wellknown, is associated with King Hezekiah, whoreigned about 70 years earlier. Fortunately,there is more than one impression, since thatfirst seen by Nahman Avigad in the 1980’s wasnot complete, and couldn’t be properlydeciphered. A better copy from the same seal ina private collection had the inscription—“Belonging to Hezekiah (son) of Ahaz, king ofJudah.” Later, in the mid-1990’s, impressionsfrom another seal of Hezekiah’s came to light.Perhaps it was used for different types ofcorrespondence. As well as the sealimpressions, there are over 4,000 jar handleswhich have been dated to the reign of Hezekiahby David Ussishkin, the excavator of Lachish,who discovered many of them there. These areknown as l’melekh jar handles. The inscriptionmeans—belonging to the king. The jars arebelieved to have contained wine which wasstored in the royal cities in case of siege by the

“Tobshalem Commander of the Army” “Domla servant of Hezekiah”

Jar handle “Belonging to the King” Seal of Ahaz, Hezekiah’s father

HURRICANES,EARTHQUAKES,DROUGHTS,DISEASES....

There is no doubt that abnormalities innature are the characteristic of the end of anage. Hurricanes, earthquakes, droughts anddiseases are all things which are under thecontrol of the angels. We only have to considerwhat God has done in the past. There was theGreat Genesis Flood, the catastrophicoverthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, theplagues on Egypt—and other, apparentlynatural phenomena.

Disasters of this kind were a sign of the endof the Mosaic age as well, and Jesus warnedabout them in Luke 21:11; “...great earthquakesshall be in divers places, and famines, andpestilences; and fearful sights and great signsshall there be from heaven.”

These troubles don’t require any specialmiracles, they work themselves out because ofthe laws which God has designed as a part ofthe natural world. The greed of man, themismanagement of the good earth—thepollution caused by industry—all bringinevitable consequences. They form part of thegeneral signs of the times—they tell us that theend of this age is fast approaching.

The end of an age comes because of man’sextreme wickedness. It comes because societyhas reached the point where there is really noalternative to its destruction. We can see thisfrom the time of Noah, as it is recorded for usin Genesis 6:5-6.

“And GOD saw that the wickedness of manwas great in the earth, and that everyimagination of the thoughts of his heart wasonly evil continually...”

Jesus said that it would be like that again.In Luke 17:26 we read: “And as it was in thedays of Noe, so shall it be also in the days ofthe Son of man...”

The character of society in the last days isclearly outlined for us in 2 Timothy 3:1-4.

The message is clear—and sensible humanbeings will take heed to themselves. In 2 Peter3:11 we read these words: “Seeing then that allthese things shall be dissolved, what manner ofpersons ought ye to be in all holy conversationand godliness.” We must each look atOURSELVES. Whatever we may find wrong inour life just has to be put right. Soon it will betoo late—so get the Bible out and READ IT!

PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE

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invading Assyrians. The seal impressions aswell as the jar handles have one thing incommon, they all have an image. Hezekiahwas perhaps the first King of Judah to use anicon or image on his royal seal. Although wedo not have impressions of the seals used byevery king of Judah, we do have one for hisfather, Ahaz. His seal has no royal symbol,only an inscription. Hezekiah, who wasopposed to the Assyrians, as we know from theevents surrounding the siege of Jerusalem bythe host of Sennacherib, was allied with theEgyptians, and there is an ongoing discussionof the meaning of the Egyptian symbols heused on his seals.

Two other members of Hezekiah’s courtwho each distinguished themselves by putting“servant of Hezekiah” on their seal, have beenidentified. Amariah, was one of the men put incharge of the store of freewill offerings forwhich Hezekiah had chambers prepared in thehouse of the Lord (2 Chronicles 31). His sealread “Belonging to Amaryahu, (son of)Hananyahu, servant of Hezekiah.” The otherofficer was Domla, a name meaning patient orsilent. He had two seals which read “Belongingto Domla, servant of Hezekiah.” One other ofHezekiah’s officials also has a survivingimpression which reads “Belonging toTobshalem, commander of the army.”

The excavation project in the City of Davidis expected to both continue and expand. EliatMazar, the archaeologist in charge says that thearea she would like to explore next lies beneaththree family houses: one Muslim, oneChristian and one Jewish.


“So you think we bears just evolved then? You think we just covered ourselves with allthis white stuff as a camouflage—to sort ofblend in with this freezing snow and ice...?

“...Well let me tell you, there’smore to this than meets youreye! In the first place, thiswhite fur isn’t white—it’stransparent like glass. Actuallyit’s a thin tube that you can calla fibre optic. Each “hair”conducts light (actually ultraviolet light) down to my skinbecause I need that kind ofenergy for heat. Of course, youscientists only discovered thisfibre optic business recently. Ifit had taken us that long ourancestors would have frozen todeath! So guess what: We weredesigned this way!

“...But I’m not finished yet. Didyou know that black absorbsheat? So my skin was designedBLACK — Get it??

“...If you say that all this justhappened (evolved) on its own,you are a bear-faced LIAR!