PropheZine #30 17 November 1996 Ray Gano .............................. Welcome Shannon StraffinŠŠIn Search of Freedom: A Christian Perspective Raymond ClarkeŠŠGod Became Man: Why? Barbara AhoŠŠŠ. TRUSTY Ša dog story Lori Fiechter ŠŠ.They Shall Prosper that Love Thee PropheZine News Bytes The House of Harrari .............Sponsor a Harp for the Temple John Loeffler .........................An Editorial The White House Press .........Yet Another Executive Order ..............................................Smart Card Update Sylvia Genders LeReverend ,,, Sylvia's News Notes Rudy Hulstrom .......................A New World Order? James K. Campbell ..............Weapons Of Mass Destruction In Terrorism Lee Underwood....................F.Y.I. - Israel In The News Jon Roland..........................Rogue Plantet obiting Hale-Bopp? IRIS ..................................Russia helping syria with nerve gas ability The Rutherford Institute.... Federal District Court Judge Takes Aim At Parent's Rights **************** Welcome To PropheZine #30 Hello all, TONS of stuff have been happening here at PZ!!! I have added to my staff again. I have a new Technical Director named Bob Lally. He is the one doing ALL the cool stuff on the PropheZine WWW site. He has added a search engine, a Subscribe and Unsubscribe, a Guest book for you to sign, and a really cool ad-on a Message board to discuss topics in regards to Bible Prophecy. This Board is monitored and means no flaming, non-Christian harassment, and such. So check out the Cool stuff that are happening at the PZ site. I have also add two other gentlemen Ed Stoghill and Jim Decker. If you have seen some of the 3-D art on the site a few months back, that was from Ed. Well Ed is going to be heading up the Ministries and follow-up department. If you are interested in having a Modem Ministry and interested in Discipleship, Then contact Ed.. estodgh@rmi.net. Now the other gentleman who has been added is Jim Decker. He is going to be working on the "look and Feel" of the Search Engine. Right now if you do a search, the articles come up and all, but we are missing graphics and different colored backgrounds, et. Well Jim is "norming" all the pages. Now, BIG things are soon to come to the PZ WWW site also. One of them is the Prophecy Alliance. There are many ministries out there that do not have a WWW site or a very small one. What the Prophecy Alliance will do is turn PZ into the "One Stop Shop" for Bible Prophecy. PZ is going to be giving space to all the Prophecy ministries that agree to the Prophecy Alliance Charter and Statement of Faith / Doctrine. We are still hacking this out right now, but so far we have had JR Church, Terry Cook, Berit Kjos and Norm Franz. I foresee the site really growing into THE prophecy web site. If you know of any ministries that would be interested in joining, please contact me. Prophecy Alliance is total free to those wishing to join us. Again, write for details regarding the Prophecy Alliance. OK....enough on the WWW site lets get down to business. This issue is a special issue to me. All the main articles are from PZ readers like yourself. This is the main reason I put PZ together, and that is to give a forum to other writers and would be writers a place to be seen and published. The lead article is VERY special to me because it was written by a very dear and good friend of mine, Shannon Straffin. Shannon is a member of my church where I attend. Shannon wrote this article for school and I have heard allot about it. I asked Shannon if I can review it. I loved the article and it spoke to my heart with great conviction. If you like her article, please do me the favor and write her and tell here how much you liked it. in fact whenever you see an article appear in PZ and it speaks to your heart, please write and encourage the author. So many times we forget to give encouragement to these people who enrich our lives greatly with their writings. Now along that same path...I need more articles. So like Shannon, Ray, Barbara and Lori, you to can put pen to paper ...or in this case fingers to keyboard, and write me an article and I will use it for PZ. I have 4 guidelines that are very simple to follow...just write to me and I will zapp them to you. Well, that is really all for right now. PLEASE stop by the WWW site and check it out...sign the guest book, get involved in the group disscussions..TELL YOUR FRIENDS,FAMILY, CHURCH MEMBERS, NEIGHBORS, ETC...ETC..etc, about PropheZine and the PropheZine WWW site. This issue I went over 1000 subscribers, I want to go over 2000 by years end and only you can help me with that goal...so you tell someone and they tell someone and so on...and so on....and so on. ALSO...Make sure you read the news bytes this issue...quiet a few of NEWS BREAKING Items that I think PZ got the scoop on. So check it out! So till we meet on this earth (Maybe at Ray Brubacker Prophecy Conference in FL) or in the air with our Lord.... Always in His service, Ray Gano Sr. Editor PropheZine **************** In Search of Freedom: A Christian Perspective By: Shannon Straffin straffin@best.com (shannon Straffin) October 1996 Observations on Freedom in the "Real World" "FreedomŠ in the medieval sense, when there was no abstract freedom but only countable Freedoms, each bestowedŠ all subject to forfeiture" -Martin Joos When I was little, I would often question my mother's instructions, especially when they interfered with my plans. Directions to take a bath, go to bed, or eat my vegetables were frequently met with a protest of "But mom, do I have to?". Occasionally, I actually got my way, at least for a little bit. More often than not, I got a stern look in response that brooked no opposition. Other times, mom would tell me, "The only thing you actually have to do is live until you die. You're free to do whatever else you want as long as you can stand the consequences." I soon discovered when I heard that line that it was better for me to freely decide to do as she said because I was NOT going to like the consequences of disobedience! We are all familiar with having limits placed on our decisions, and not just from our childhood. In many cases, we voluntarily comply with behavioral restrictions dictated by our culture or our laws. Yet, here in America, we say we live in a free country. What does it mean to be free? Is there such a thing as freedom in an absolute, abstract sense? If so, how is this abstraction implemented in a society composed of interdependent people? There are many different ways of looking at the concept of freedom. Freedom from oppression. Freedom to choose. Personal, civic and corporate freedom. The dictionary offers two basic definitions: 1) Freedom is the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action. i.e., "No one is telling me what to do. I can do what I feel like." 2) Freedom is also the power or condition of acting without compulsion. i.e., "I am calling the shots. I can do what I feel like." In both cases, the word freedom implies a release from restriction, an opportunity to act without hindrance. The second definition, however, is closer to the definition of liberty, "the positive enjoyment of various social, political, or economic rights and privileges." Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (1979) offers a short description on the difference between freedom and liberty: Freedom may imply total or moderate absence of restraint or merely an unawareness of being unduly hampered or frustrated. Liberty may carry more clearly an implication of the power to choose or one of deliverance from constraint or compulsion. These definitions have focused on the environment surrounding a decision: absence of restraint or compulsion. What is missing is a description of the result of this decision. If I am free to put my hand on a hot stove, then I am also free to get burned for my efforts. Cause and effect; action and consequence. The definition of freedom says that if my choice is free, I don't have to choose something with negative consequences like putting my hand on a hot stove. However, it offers no guarantees about the results of my decision. Having freedom does not mean that I have the ability to choose something with negative consequences and then somehow manage to avoid those consequences. It simply means I have the ability to choose. Outside the dictionary, in the "real world," personal freedom is equated with independence. If the marketing mavens are to be believed, freedom is a near-nirvana state of being achieved by having various products and services which grant you more control over your own life. And what exactly are we to do with all of this freedom? What ever we want! The sky's the limit! Taken to it's extreme, this view of freedom as individual independence is self-will run amuck. Some say that chaos would result if everyone at once fully exercised their freedom. Others argue that a new, self-imposed type of order would emerge as the society regulates itself. I fail to see how either of these outcomes results in true freedom in an absolute sense. If chaos reigned, there would certainly be precious little freedom to enjoy peace of mind or personal security. If a new order emerged, we would merely return to our current situation, only with new packaging as different freedoms are added or removed. I think a lot of what we see in our culture today is the concept that we should have absolute liberty, rather than absolute freedom. The difference is more than a split hair over word choice. The concept of control is central to the way our society seems to view freedom. There is a growing trend in this country that very much disturbs me. People insist on having the right to do or say anything they please. As long as it doesn't break the law. Or at least as long as it doesn't break a law that they agree with. Or as long as there aren't extenuating circumstances surrounding the breaking of a law that they normally agree with. (And there are always extenuating circumstances, it seems. This is moral relativism, but I am getting ahead of myself!) Anyway, people insist on having the ability to do what they want, but at the same time they deny any and all responsibility for the negative consequences of their actions. Not only do people seem to feel that they themselves ought to have this liberty of liberties, freedom from consequence, but they also seem to think everyone else is entitled to it, too. (Unless, of course, it interferes with their own ability to exercise this freedomŠ) The most ironic example I can think of which demonstrates this thinking involves the case of the Menendez brothers, who brutally murdered their parents. I remember seeing an interview with a woman (a member of the jury?) who felt sorry for "those poor boys" because now they would spend the rest of their lives without their mother and father. I can't help but wonder how different her reaction might have been if the deceased parents had been close friends of hers. I believe this trend of rampant victimization, where no one is to blame for the bad things that happen to them, is an outgrowth of our society's views on freedom. In our reach for personal freedom, which we define as independence, we focus on self-fulfillment. The problem is our pursuit of this goal will eventually interfere with someone else's pursuit of the same goal. Usually some compromise will be possible that will allow both sides to have at least most of what they want. In this conflict, which is more important: the right of the individual to freely pursue getting exactly what they want, or the collective good that may force one or both parties to relinquish something? This is necessarily a very value-laden question since freedom, goal achievement, and harmonious living are all things upon which people place value. The answer lies in redefining the concept of freedom. What Christians Believe About Freedom "You will know the truth and the truth will set you free"-Jn 8:32, NIV To the Christian, true freedom lies only in complete submission of our will to Jesus Christ. The apparent paradox in this statement lies in our desire to direct our own lives for good and our human inability to do so. We are released from the bonds of sin and death through a saving relationship with Christ. Only through Christ can we see the truth of our actions, and only through Him can we receive forgiveness from their eternal consequences. Only through the power of the Holy Spirit do we receive the strength needed to walk a path away from what hurts us to one that is truly beneficial for us. Freedom in an abstract sense that releases us from all restraint has no meaning for the Christian. It is part of the human condition that we will serve someone: we will either serve ourselves or serve God. The human heart can be a harsh master. Feed it a little, and soon it craves more. Our society abounds with examples of how this is true. Consider the change in what we perceive as entertaining. Movies today are increasingly violent and sexually explicit. Producers seek new ways to thrill audiences already numbed by previous exposure. It takes more extreme measures to evoke the same response, and the hippest artists are always those who are "on the edge" of pushing the limits. Films created a generation ago are seen as boring and impossibly slow paced. We've seen it all before: been there, done that, moved on. Serving the self is a never ending process, and one that does not always lead us to choose the things that are truly best for us. For example, viewing sexually explicit material is closely linked to violence against women. It would make sense, therefore, for a society not to produce or view such material. But this restraint does not please the self. Only by removing the focus from serving ourselves, by relinquishing the pursuit of our own independent brand of freedom, can we break the spiraling feedback loop of self-gratification. Serving God instead of ourselves leads us to make decisions that ultimately lead to true happiness and freedom. Therefore, the only true freedom lies in being a servant to God. As you can see, the Christian perspective on freedom is very different from the perspective apparently in use in our society. True freedom lies not in removing all boundaries, an impossible task, but rather in discovering where those boundaries are. I think we understand this concept much better as children. Children want clear boundaries. They push their parents to define those boundaries for them, and then through the family relationship, test the boundaries to see how strong they are. In the example from my own childhood at the beginning of this paper, we have already seen that freedom is a relational concept. In the Bible, freedom is also depicted as a spiritual concept as well. This is primarily because the most important relationship in which we can experience freedom is the one we have with God. In order for there to be any meaningful conversation about human freedom, we need to understand the role of human free will. God created mankind in His image for the purpose of being in relationship with Him. In order to fulfill this purpose, God gave us free will, the ability to choose. This free will is essential to the relationship with God: the incredible potential for greatness (and for failure) is not possible without it. What is the sense in having a relationship with an automaton who has no ability to do other than what you say? Yet parents know the joy of seeing their children choose to obediently follow the guidance which the parents have given for the benefit of the child. How much more so is this same concept true of our Heavenly Father! It is therefore part of God's plan that we have been created with the ability to choose whether or not we want to even acknowledge, much less fulfill, the purpose for which we were created. The free will we were given has its limits. It does not come with the ability to change the laws of the universe, the power to break the cycle of action and reaction, or the knowledge of the future. Furthermore, as human beings, we live under certain boundary conditions which we can't deny or change. We can't escape our need for oxygen, food and water. We are social creatures, and have therefore have social needs as well, such as companionship and love. We were created with a need to be in relationship not only with other people, but with God as well. Within the boundaries in which we were created, we seek to exercise our free will to meet our needs and the desires of our hearts. All too often, however, the freedom we seek ends up turning into another form of slavery. "Everyone who sins is a slave to sin" -Jn 8:34, NIV Sin, simply put, is disobedience to God and His divine standard. It is both the cause and the effect of what happens when we place our desires for our lives above the desires God has for us. This disobedience puts us at odds with God, the same way a disobedient child is at odds with his parents. God established the divine standard for how we relate to each other and to Him for our own protection. Yet time and again, we go our own way, thinking that we know better than the One who created us. By doing so, we invite needless pain into our lives by choosing to act in ways which bring negative consequences upon us or others. Even worse than that, we have now put ourselves in a predicament. Not only are we living apart from the relationship with God which we were created to enjoy, but we have also firmly entrenched ourselves in the bonds of self-service. I have heard it said that we have all been born with a God-shaped hole in our hearts. One effect of sin is to drive a wedge between us and God. This separation prevents us from satisfying our need for a relationship with God. It then causes us to try to find substitutions for what is missing in our lives. Like trying to fit the proverbial square peg in the God-shaped hole, we spend our energies seeking something that will satisfy us-money, possessions, fame, sex, power-you name it. Because we are so focused on ourselves, we deviate from the divine standard of God's will for our lives. Once we deviate from the divine standard, we enter the realm of moral relativism. Truth becomes a vague concept instead of a real Person. Determining right from wrong becomes more a matter of deciding what is pleasing to us rather than describing the facts. This leads us into all sorts of twisted reasoning and poor decisions, and ultimately winds up in pain and confusion. The Menendez case mentioned earlier is a dramatic example of this. Sin and the ensuing moral relativism it leads us to would not be so problematic if we lived only for our short life spans on this earth, but that is not the case. God has created us as eternal beings. Our earthly choices shape the eternal destiny of our souls: whether we will spend eternity with God or utterly apart from Him. The reason for this can be represented by two lines that are almost, but not quite parallel to each other. If these lines were not very long, they would not be very far apart at their end points. Now imagine that these same lines are infinitely long. The further one travels down the lines, the further apart they become. At some point it becomes obvious that these lines are pointing in very different directions. One line represents God, the other line represents humanity. God will not violate His own rules; that which is not God can't spend eternity with God. There is a separation between man and God that must be overcome, caused by mankind's self-serving, sinful nature. From the early days recorded in the Old Testament, there has always been a consequence for sin and wrong doing. That consequence is eternal separation from God Himself, the source of all goodness in creation. "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed"--Jn 8:36, NIV In His great love, God provided a way to overcome this separation by sending Jesus to pay for the consequences of our sinfulness once and for all. Trapped by our slavery to sin, there is no way that we could ever achieve the perfection of character God desires in us on our own because of our sin. Therefore, God mercifully made a way for us to be reunited with him. This way requires us to regain our relationship with God by being obedient to his commandments. It is for this reason that Christians do not view true freedom as total independence from a master. Freedom is found only in taking a new master, Christ. Only through Him do we have the ability to actually avoid the eternal negative consequence, separation from God, which we have earned through our sinful actions. The benefits of service to Christ are available even during this lifetime. Through Christ's power, we now have the ability to break the hold of sin on our lives. The focus can finally be transformed from a need to satisfy the self into a desire to please God. "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for me will find it" --Matt 16:25 There are certain things that God commands for our lives. These things are recorded in scripture. There are other areas, however, where He is silent. For example, God says nothing about what career we should choose; only that we should do honest work for our food. Likewise, scripture gives no exact formula for how we should invest our money, how many children we should have, how old we should be when we get married, etc. We are given freedom in these decisions as long as our actions are in keeping with the instructions that have been spelled out for us. In this way, God allows room in His will for our individual personalities and talents. He is not interested in turning us all into carbon copies of each other. Rather, He wants us to find the freedom to become who He meant for us to be when He created us. We can only achieve this potential when we are freed from sin and the need to serve ourselves. The Christian finds freedom, not in unlimited expression of an independent will, but in submission of his will freely and joyfully to God, in thanksgiving for the goodness God has shown. "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love." -Gal 5:13, NIV Another problem with the common definition of freedom as individual independence is the fact that we live in an interdependent society. Our lives constantly impact each other to some degree. We increasingly see examples of our interconnectedness, and not just in heavily populated cities. The farmer who uses banned pesticides on his crops causes the acid rain that kills the fish in a lake a hundred miles away. Outside of the Christian framework of freedom, how can every individual exercise their freedom as independence and still live in harmony with other people? It is not a strictly Christian perspective that a focus on self-service is not the best way to go, either for the individual or for the society. In "Choice: Evolution or Extinction," Lazlo says that we must act morally by "living in a way that allows other people to live as well." This definition is one model for living interdependently, but what does it mean? Lazlo describes a system of voluntary changes in lives around the world that reflect a denial of something an individual desires. While I do agree that not everyone is running around purposely spending their lives in flagrant dissipation to consume as much as possible, I don't agree that humanity will suddenly become enlightened and voluntarily become less consumptive simply because it is "the right thing to do." Somehow, I just don't see it happening without some external influence. And where is that influence going to come from, if not from God? Our popular view of freedom as an ideal is distorted. True freedom is found in responsible behavior that avoids needlessly bringing negative consequences upon ourselves or others, not in recklessness that provides some measure of immediate pleasure. We need to temper our desire for instant gratification with wisdom, knowing that the false promise of freedom that is license to do whatever we please is an invitation to disaster.1 Lazlo and other systems thinkers recognize the truth in this; again, it is not a strictly Christian sentiment. So why does the Christian insist on bringing God into the equation? Why canít we just live in harmony with other people, mindfully aware of the interconnectedness of human life, without all the religious overtones? I donít think thatís enough motivation by itself. If it were, wouldnít we all be doing that already to take care of our loved ones? The problem again comes back to the human condition and the disease of sin. Not only does sin disrupt the relationship between man and God, but also between man and man. (And man and woman, too!) As we have already discussed, the power to overcome sin is only available through the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is only available through a relationship with Christ. As we obey the scriptures, we learn not only how to regain a right relationship with God, but also find guidance for healthy relationships with other people. In this promise lies our only hope for true freedom. Final Thoughts "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you just might find you get what you need" -The Rolling Stones "But godliness with contentment is great gain." -1 Ti 6:6, NIV Footnotes 1 Richards, L. O. (1991). Zondervan Expository Dictionary of Bible Words. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Press. ****************** God Became Man: Why? by Raymond Clarke jodyc@python.viper.net Scripture teaches us that God became man. Did you ever wonder why? Why was it necessary that Jesus Christ come into this earth through the virgin birth. Why could God not have just sent Jesus into the earth as a part of the Godhead, destroy Satan and restore mankind? We have all heard that Jesus came into this world to die for our sins. Why was that necessary? Why could our sins not just be forgiven without anyone having to die for them? If God is all powerful and all loving why are there so many evil things going on in the world today? Why can we not do enough good works to earn our salvation. Why does scripture teach that Jesus in the only way to God? Why can't we Christians be a little more tolerant and accept other religions? Why are our works considered unacceptable in the eyes of God? Is there really an eternal hell and how could such a great, wonderful God condemn anyone to eternal damnation? These are the type questions with which I will deal as I expand upon these thoughts. I have heard questions of this nature raised by born again Christians many times and it is the type questions that troubled me as a youngster which I never really understood. I recall many times pastors telling us that this or that was so because the Bible said that it was so. But if you did not believe in the Bible how could you accept that reality?. At times I had difficulty accepting or understanding the authority of God's word. I was always searching for the why but seldom heard it. This is, perhaps, one of the reasons I deal with the why, not just the fact that it is so. One of the ways we can authenticate God's Word is through Bible prophecy, a most powerful tool given to us by Almighty God and many of these prophecies will be interwoven throughout this study as we consider the" WHY "of God's Word. In order to gain an understanding of questions of this type let us move back across the pages of time and find out about how sin started and how mankind found himself literally in Satan's kingdom with seemingly no way out. THE ORIGIN OF SATAN As we look back into eternity past, we learn what God's Word tells us about the origin of Satan, how that momentous event came about and how it is still affecting mankind today. The information regarding Satan's rise to prominence is sketchy but not completely lacking in God's Word. We know through the scripture that Satan, formerly Lucifer, was the leading Arc Angel. He was the anointed one, the most high angel until iniquity was found in him. This proved to be a sad day for God's kingdom and for mankind. "... Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols; the worm is spread under thee and the worms cover thee. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt mythrone above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit, They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; That made the world as a wilderness, destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?..." (Isaiah 14: 11 -16) Here we learn of Lucifer's rebellion against God. This is actually the beginning of the "Newage" we hear so much about today. Lucifer said, "I will be like the most High." It is not really very new is it? As a result, Lucifer, God's most high angel, was stripped of his title and glory and became Satan. There is yet another scripture which gives further information about Lucifer's fall found in Ezekiel 8: 11 - 15. "...Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying , Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God: Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering , the Sardius, the sapphire, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth thee; and I have set thee so: Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou was perfect in thy ways from the day thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. (Ezekiel 8: 1-15 KJV) God's most high angel was found in rebellion against Him and was brought down and it would be only a short time before he brought mankind down with him. We learn several things from these two scriptures regarding the origin of Satan. First, the angelic host was created as free moral agents. How else could Lucifer have chosen to rebel against God. In Revelation we find where approximately one-third of the angelic host followed Lucifer into open rebellion and were likewise brought down. While we sometimes struggle to know the exact sequence of events throughout God's word it is helpful to know all that we can. It is believed that God created the angelic host prior to the creation of the universe. We see this evidenced in the book of Job as God speaks to Job out of the whirlwind. In this scripture we find Job complaining and questioning God. God allows him to speak before He decided that Job has said enough whereupon God speaks: "...Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up now thylions like a man; for I will demand of thee, Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; When the morning stars sang together, and all of he sons of God shouted for joy?..." (Job 38: 2-7 KJV) From this scripture we see that God created the angelic host before He created the universe, for we read in verse seven that " ... all the Morning Stars sang for joy..." when the universe was created. This tells us two things about the creation of the angelic host. Lucifer, God's most high angel had apparently not yet rebelled against God for we are told that "...all the Morning Stars (the angels) sang for joy..." It also tells us that the angelic host was created before the creation of the universe. However, sometime following this event described in Job 38 Lucifer became proud and iniquity was found in him as he rebelled against God and carried one-third of the angelic host with him. "...And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and didst cast them to the earth..." War broke out in the heavenlies and according to some Bible scholars (though I cannot fully verify this with scripture) possibly spilled over into the earth prior to man's creation thereby destroying God's perfect creation, leaving the earth in the chaotic condition described in Genesis one verse two. According to this theory, the creation, spoken of in Genesis 1 :2, may have been the recreation of a destroyed earth on which God placed man. It was believed that Lucifer may have, in fact, ruled over the angelic host on the planet earth in pre-historic times. This is an interesting thought but, in my opinion, cannot be verified with scripture. Regardless, when God chose to create man he provided an earthly home for man and placed mankind in authority in the earth. Man is the only being to whom God gave authority in the earth and this is a most important point as you will see. Why did God create man? Once again scripture is limited as it relates to the reasons why man was created, but we are told that God desired fellowship with man. It is also likely that God needed man to carry out his overall plan in the universe. When Satan rebelled against God and lost his original standing with God, it is possible that Satan challenged God's perfection. God being a "God of Absolute Perfection" and righteousness desired to show Satan and the fallen angelic host that, not only was he justified in the action He took, but that, in fact, there was no alternative left to Him. Suffice it to say that God did, in fact, create man and placed him upon the earth and gave Satan the opportunity tochallenge His absolute perfection through mankind. God being a God of "Absolute Perfection" did not want any doubt in Satan's mind or the mind of the angelic host that He was completely justified in the action He took against Satan and his now demonic host. Through his crowning creation (mankind) God would prove His "Absolute Perfection" / righteousness once and for all to Satan and his host.Let us now move forward from eternity past to the beginning of time when Adam and Eve were created and placed in the Garden of Eden. Through His spoken word and his absolute faith, God created mankind, placed him on this earth and gave him dominion over the things in the earth. God is going to rigidly respect that authority even to the point that He allows man to hand that authority over to Satan. THE NATURE OF GOD Remember, that God is a God of "Absolute Perfection" but He is also a God of "Absolute Justice" and that may not always be good news. Through faith and the words of His mouth, God created this universe and everything in it. He is the personification of "Perfection". We also know that, in addition to all else, God is Omnipresent (present everywhere at all times), He is Omniscient (All knowing) and Omnipotent ( All powerful). Being a God of "Absolute Perfection" and "Absolute Justice", He expects and even demands absolute perfection from mankind. We sometimes lose sight of this as we consider God's mercy, never-the-less He demands perfection. If you think God is going to ignore or wink at sin make no mistake- He will not. Without perfection no man will ever see God! Every sin ever committed or ever to be committed will be paid for by shed blood or death. There is no other way to describe God's nature except "Absolute Perfection" and in this perfection He cannot and will not violate His previously established word no matter what the cost. Should He ever violate His established word Satan would winthe universe and take God's throne. Often we wonder why God allows so much evil continue in the world today. We must remember that no matter what, God cannot violate His established word, therefore, He must allow certain things to happen even though He may not approve. We must remember that when Adam and Eve bowed the knee to Satan in the Garden of Eden, Satan became the "god of this world" and this worldly system which has evolved over the centuries is a part of Satan's kingdom, not Gods. Since God gave mankind authority in the earth, it is required of man to take authority over the evil and if man fails to do so then it will continue until God brings it all to an end and Jesus Christ returns in His glorious Second Coming. God is so committed to honoring His established word that if and when man fails to exercise his authority over Satan, God is bound to allow Satan to have his way within established limits, therefore, do not blame God for the evil going on in the world today rather blame the ones to whom God gave authority in the earth "born-again-man". God Establishes His Law Of Perfection. In the very beginning God firmly and absolutely established His "Law of Absolute Perfection" and His unchangeable word. That law, established by His Word, will stand forever and no man who has ever lived or who will ever live will be allowed to break that law without very serious consequences - death. This law was firmly established in the Garden of Eden following the creation of Adam and Eve. You will recall that He placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and gave to them only one command. God plainly told them that the penalty for violating that law was certain death. There was no misunderstanding of what God had commanded of them. He told Adam that they could not eat the fruit from the "Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil" without bringing upon themselves certain death. "...And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: For in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die..." (Genesis 2:15-17 KJV) Since God speaks no idle words, the statement found in Genesis 2:15 firmly establishes a spiritual law which no man will be permitted to break. Initially this constituted the entire "law of perfection" but later the Old Covenant, including the Mosaic Law was incorporated into and constituted God's "law of perfection". Not only was God a God of absolute perfection or righteousness but He was a God which demanded absolute justice. This means that if His law is violated in any way then justice is demanded and justice was satisfied by death, therefore when Adam and Eve violated His law the only justice was death. In His infinite grace God instituted animal sacrifice to temporarily atone for sin but this required the shedding of blood which likewise required death. This temporary justice would suffice until God could fulfill his promise of the Messiah who was to become that "Lamb of God" who would be sacrificed for the sins of mankind and permanently atone for man's sin. You will recall that any animal sacrifice had to be a "spotless lamb" likewise the "Lamb of God" had to be a man who was spotless or without sin. You will recall that John the Baptist referred to Jesus as the "...Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world...". Jesus would become the "Spotless Lamb" who would be sacrificed on behalf of mankind. He had to be all man, for had he fulfilled his mission as a part of the Godhead, it would have been illegal because it was required of man to fulfill the law. He had to live a life of absolute perfection because even one "small sin" would have disqualified him as the "Spotless Lamb". This is why Jesus had to come into the earth through the birth process so that He might qualify as a man. Had Jesus ever given in to even one temptation, mankind would have been forever damned as a result of God's demand for absolute justice. God is unable to compromise and must forever remain true to His established word regardless to the cost. The cost of violating His word would be far greater than His demand for absolute perfection. Man Must Fulfill God's Law God has established an absolute law and has required of mankind that His law be completely and perfectly fulfilled. It is very important that we zero in on the fact that God has required that man, not the "Godhead", fulfill the law. When Eve was tempted by Satan and did eat from the "Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil" and caused Adam to eat thereof, she invoked the penalty of death upon herself, upon Adam, and upon all descendants of Adam - that includes you and me. "...Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: How can fallen man ever fulfill God's law of "Absolute Perfection"? Spiritually, Adam and Eve died immediately. The Shekinah Glory that had clothed them disappeared and they realized that they were naked. Physical death set in and ultimately claimed the lives of all mankind. Man was created to live eternally. Had he fulfilled God's law, man would have lived forever and death would never have come upon the human race. All of mankind now stood condemned under God's "Law of Perfection" and justice demanded death. Through the transgression of Adam and Eve, mankind, in essence, bowed the knee to Satan. He became the "god of this world " as he laid claim to the Title Deed of the earth. Mankind became the legal subject of Satan's Kingdom. God had given mankind dominion over the earth, but man betrayed God's trust, bowed the knee to Satan and handed that dominion over to Satan. God, in His absolute perfection, was legally bound to honor His word and recognize Satan's claim. It is very important to keep in mind that the kingdom which developed upon this earth belonged to Satan, for Satan was now legally the "god of this world." Man had failed to fulfill God's law as was required of him, hence he could not be redeemed until that law was fulfilled completely! What is man to do? Second Corinthians tells us that Satan is indeed the "god of this world."2 Cor 4:4; In whom the god of this world hath blinded, the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. (KJV) If God is an absolute God, and His Word is absolute, what choice did He have but allow death to come upon mankind, for His word had already been established? He had no choice. Had He not fulfilled his command, He would have violated His own Word and Satan would have defeated Him. Satan could have rightly challenged God's perfection and God would have been in the same situation in which mankind found himself.In His perfection it sometimes appears that God is a harsh God. Why could He not just forgive and forget that which Adam and Eve had done? Just keep in mind that God's word is equivalent to spiritual law. It is eternal and it will stand no matter what the consequences might be. If God ever violates His word He, in effect, lies. Since God had decreed that Satan is the father of lies, He would have subjected Himself to Satan's rule.Consider somehing as simple as our sysem ofjustice. It works fine as long as everyone involved is completely honest and fully informed. If that breaks down, then it is very likely that our system of justice would become a travesty. While God's perfection may at times seem harsh, consider the alternative. If we were not able to depend entirely, completely and absolutely on God's word, there would be no such thing as truth. There would be no absolutes! Nothing could be depended upon completely. We find man and God in a "catch 22" situation and it appears that there is no way out. God has demanded "absolute perfection" from mankind and mankind has already "violated God's trust. Man must fulfill God's law of perfection. Since every descendent of Adam is under the curse, then it appears that no man will ever be able to fulfillGod's law perfectly. But God is locked in by His word and cannot violate it even once. Satan thinks that he has won. If God is going to save mankind, then He must never violate His word. Satan knows that if and when God ever violates His word, he will win the universe and even God's throne. But God was way ahead of Satan and soon after the fall of man He set in motion a plan whereby mankind could be redeemed legally, a plan upon which Satan did not count, found in Genesis 3: 15. This is the first prophecy given regarding the coming of the Messiah. "Genesis 3: 15 - And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." (KJV) God promised in Genesis 3:15 that a redeemer, the seed of woman, would come and that redeemer would bruise the head of Satan. Notice, God said that the "seed of woman" would bruise his head not the "seed of man". This is very important. "Satan Didn't Count On" Remember God promised Satan that the seed of woman would bruise his head in Genesis 3:15? This was God's first promise of a redeemer, but that redeemer had to legally qualify as a man but had to come from the seed of woman. Every descendent born of Adam was under the curse and could not qualify. What Satan didn't count on was the Virgin Birth! What is the significance of the virgin birth? There are those who do not believe that the virgin birth was possible. By nature it is an impossibility, but with God anything is possible. God could not just forgive Adam and Eve of their sin because such a move would have been illegal and Satan had to be defeated on absolutely legal grounds. The only way that this could be accomplished was for man to fulfill God's "Law of Perfection"- thus the virgin birth became a necessity. The seed of woman mentioned in chapter two was the key to the redemption of mankind. The Son of God had to enter the earth via way of the birth process in order to qualify as a man He was the only being who could qualify, but even He could not qualify as a member of the Triune Godhead, He had to enter the earth through the birth process in order to qualify as a man. He had to become incarnate man and the virgin birth was the only way that this could be accomplished. Had he been born into this earth as the seed of man, he would have been under the Adamic curse and could not have qualified, therefore, it was no accident that God had decreed that the "seed of woman" would bruise the head of Satan or destroy Satan.We know through science that the blood of the mother does not enter the body of the unborn child. The unborn child produces its own blood, following conception, therefore, if a virgin birth were possible then the seed of Adam could be bypassed and an individual could be born into the earth who was not under the curse. It is for this reason that God had to send His son into the earth via way of the virgin birth. However, before this could happen, God had to send forth His word until such time that He could bring His Son into the earth in order to fulfill His prophecy in Genesis 3:15.God, therefore, raised up a righteous line from Adam and Eve and supernaturally protected this righteous line and from the destructive forces of Satan. Through the scripture, this line can be traced from Adam and Eve to Abraham, God's covenant partner. Abraham was chosen as the one with whom God would cut a blood covenant and begin the long process of feeding His word into this earth through Abraham and his descendants until such time that He could bring His son into this earth as a man - the man who would indeed fulfill God's "Law of Perfection" and qualify as the only one who could take from Satan all authority that God had originally given to mankind in the person of Adam. Jesus became that perfect man, and as a man, fulfilled God's "Law of Perfection" which was required of man. Once He had accomplished that he qualified to become that spotless lamb who was sacrificed for all of mankind. He went to the cross where he died for the sins of the world. God placed all of man's sin past, present and future sins upon Him. He was made sin. He never sinnedbut was made sin for mankind and literally went into the very pit of hell and paid the price which you and I deserved to pay. After three days and three nights God raised Him up victoriously whereupon he defeated Satan, took from him the keys to death, hell and the grave and he led the captives free. The captives referred to here were the men of God who had died and gone into paradise to await for the shedding of Jesus' blood for even they could not enter heaven until Jesus shed his blood. Once that took place His blood reached back across the pages of time and cleansed their sins and then and only then were they allowed to enter heaven. Jesus' blood covers our sins today and all sins we shall commit in the future. Upon death today born again man does not go into paradise but goes directly to heaven to be with Jesus Christ forever. Unlike the saints of old for they could not enter heaven until Jesus' blood was shed for them. Prior to that time their sins were temporarily atoned for by animal sacrifice. Upon death, unborn again men go directly into the bowels of the earth where they are incarcerated in what some call hell to await the Great White Throne Judgment where they will be cast into the final and eternal hell, God forbid! Man does not have to go there but so many will simply not listen or hear the truth.How did God accomplish all of this for man? How did he get His son into the earth to reverse that which Adam had caused? That is the story of the Old Testament condensed herein to give you an overview of what took place. Since man had given his control over to Satan, God had to set in motion a plan whereby man could be redeemed. For this move to be legal, He had to establish a legal link to man. This He accomplished through a Blood Covenant with Abraham. God Seeks A Covenant Relationship With Mankind God must find a man through whom he can work to establish some kind of legal relationship before He can accomplish that which He desires to accomplish on behalf of mankind. God is looking for a way in which He can feed His word into the earth in sufficient abundance that He can bring the redeemer who is to redeem mankind. Since He must work through man, He must find a man upon whom He can depend completely and cut a blood Covenant with that man. Through this blood Covenant, God will once again be free to work in the earth but he must work through this covenant relationship which He shall establish with His covenant partner - Abraham. He will not come into the earth as a part of the Godhead and usurp the authority of Satan. Why did God not just send His son Jesus into the earth as a part of the Godhead, destroy Satan and all of his work and forgive mankind and start over? To do so would have violated His word because He had given man authority in the earth. Man must fulfill God's "law of perfection" not God, therefore, God was, by his own word, required to work through man and Abraham was God's man through whom He chose to work. In order that this work be legal and in keeping with God's established word, God cut a covenant with him which, in effect, allowed God to begin putting His plan of redemption into operation in the earth. In other words, God now had permission of man to begin implementing His plan. God could not have implemented His plan without man's permission or approval because it would have violated His word - something God will never do no matter what the cost might be. The cost of violating His word would spell eternal doom for all of mankind, God and His creation. God's Call To Abram God's call goes out to Abram as He begins to groom Abram for a very special relationship that He intends to establish with him. God apparently wanted Abram away from his people and away from their idolatry so that Abram would be free to follow the calling which God had in mind for him. Notice, however, that God apparently offered no explanation to Abram at that time. He was looking for a man who would be obedient.Gen 12:1-4 1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. (KJV) Although this call was not the completion of what God had in mind for Abram, He did promise Abram a very special blessing and also assured him that he would become the father of many nations and that through him all the families of the earth would be blessed. Abram obeys the call of God without question. Then in chapter 15 we find where God once again appears to Abram. Gen 15:1-18 1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. 2 And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? 3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. 4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. 5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. 7 And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. 8 And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? 9 And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. 10 And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not. 11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away. 12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. 13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. 15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. 16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. 17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. 18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: Here we find where God cut a blood covenant with Abram and sealed that covenant with the animal sacrifice which Abram was instructed by God to obtain and so arrange. Abram asked God how he could know that he would gain possession of that which God had promised. God called upon Abram to arrange for a Blood Covenant into which He would enter with him. Abram knew the meaning of and understood the significance of a Blood Covenant, therefore, God met Abram at a level which he understood. God will always meet man at the level of his understanding. That night God walked between the pieces which Abram had arranged and God sealed His part of the Covenant in that manner. Then in Chapter 17 of Genesis, we find where Abram was called upon to confirm his part of the Blood Covenant.God once again appears to Abram and He begins to outline more detail of this Covenant to Abram. He instructed Abram, "walk before me and be blameless." He also changed Abram's name to Abraham and Sarai's name to Sarah. Abraham agreed and was circumcised and he circumcised every male member of his clan as God had instructed him to do. This was a visible way in which Abraham signed this Blood Covenant. Every male child born into Abraham's family in the future became a part of that Covenant when he was circumcised and the promise which God had made to Abraham was made also to all of Abraham's descendants. God now has a Blood Covenant partner through which He can begin his work to bring His word into the earth and fulfill His plan to bring the Living Word, Jesus Christ, into the earth which He had promised in Genesis 3:15. Abram believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. God now has legal entry back into the earth. Through the descendants of Abraham, God begins to feed His word into the earth to prepare the world for the coming Messiah. Prior to this Blood Covenant, God had no legal entry into the earth because He had given dominion of the earth over to man and man had given it over to Satan. Through this legal contract, however, God now has a man who has sworn on a blood covenant that he would obey God. Now God is able to begin working through this legal arrangement to undo that which Adam had done.God Calls Upon Abraham To Sacrifice Issac, His Son The entire Old Testament is filled with the details of the story of how God went about the process of bringing His Son into the earth as a man in order that man might qualify to reclaim that which Adam had given away. God had to test Abraham completely to make certain that He would fulfill His part of the Covenant. God had no misgivings, but He wanted to prove beyond any doubt to Satan and his legions that Abraham would follow his commands in order that His work would be completely legal as He took steps to reclaim mankind and the Title Deed to the earth which Satan had temporarily taken from man. Therefore, God called upon Abraham to sacrifice Issac, his son upon an altar. In Genesis 22: 1- 18 we read about how God called upon Abraham to sacrifice his only son.What a remarkable sacrifice Abraham was called upon to make. God called upon him to sacrifice his only (legal) son. Why would God do such a thing? Again, it was to prove beyond any doubt to Satan and his legion that Abraham would fulfill his part of this Covenant. Had Abraham refused, then Satan could and would have cried foul. But notice what God said after Abraham, had fulfilled his part of this Covenant and agreed to sacrifice Issac. God said, "By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: 17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice." ( Genesis 22: 16 - 18 KJV) Since Abraham had agreed to sacrifice his only son, it enabled God to sacrifice His only son on behalf of mankind. Had Abraham disobeyed God and failed to offer his son on the sacrificial altar, then God could not have legally sacrificed His only son and mankind would have been eternally doomed. Therefore, Abraham, God's Covenant Partner, made it possible for God to redeem mankind. However, before God's Son could qualify, He had to enter the earth as a man and as a man He had to defeat Satan. To have come into the earth as a part of the Godhead would have been illegal and would not have satisfied the claims of justice which was required of man.God continued to work through the descendants of Abraham to bring His Only Son into the earth as a man. The entire Old Testament outlines much detail of these events. We find that the people through which God worked were not perfect for they made many mistakes along the way. The Bible never attempts to cover those mistakes, but readily brings them out for everyone to read about. There are never any cover ups in God's Word. Some of the people which were mightily used of God fell into Satan's trap often and while serious consequences did follow, God continued to use them when they would allow Him to do so. This is good news to us today, for we realize that our imperfections today can be turned for the Glory of God when we realize our mistakes and are willing to repent of them and call upon God for forgiveness. To further illustrate how much God depended upon man to carry out His work here on earth, you can study the story of he supernatural destruction of Sodom and Gomorah in the eighteenth and nineteenth Chapters of Genesis. In this story you learn of the significance of God's Covenant with Abraham. God planned to destroy Sodom and Gomorah because of the evil corruption that was taking place in the cities. The perverse sin of homosexuality was rampant in Sodom and Gomorah and God determined to destroy the city and everyone in the cities, however, He would not do so until he consulted with His covenant partner, Abraham. You will recall how Abraham bargained with God to save the cities and God agreed that if He could find only five righteous people in the cities, He would not destroy them, but even five could not be found. In spite of that, God promised to bring Lot and his family out of the cities before bringing destruction upon them. Lot was a relative of Abraham and God so respected His covenant partner that he brought Abraham's kinsmen out prior to bringing destruction upon Sodom and Gomorah. Throughout the Old Testament, you find God's people standing firmly upon that Abrahamic Covenant and never once did God refuse to honor that Covenant as long as His people honored it and stood upon it.David stood upon that Covenant when he faced Goliath and he defied the enemies of Israel in the name of the Covenant and God gave him a great victory. David never flinched! He knew his Covenant rights and he stood unmoved upon that Covenant and God honored him. As David prepared to meet Goliath he stated: "...26 who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God. 45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: But I come to thee In the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel whom thou hast defied..."(I Samuel 17: 26 & 45) Moses stood unyielding upon that Covenant when he literally challenged God to do what was right in the name of the Covenant and according to the scriptures, God repented. That Covenant was powerful and a mighty weapon when His people would stand upon it. "...Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. Remember Abraham, Issac, and Israel, thy servants to whom thou swearest by thine own self, and saidst unto him, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it forever. And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people..." (Exodus 32: 12-14) Dare a man speak to God in any such manner? Moses knew his Covenant and dared to stand upon that Covenant and challenge God in the name of His Covenant. Again, that tells you something about how powerful was God's Covenant with Israel. If man would dare to stand upon it, certainly God would honor it. The scripture tells us that God repented! He changed His mind when Moses reminded of His promise to Abraham, Issac and Israel. As pow erful as the Covenant with Israel was, it does not compare to the Covenant we have today with Jesus Christ as surety. The New Covenant is even better and more powerful than the old. To become a partaker of the New Covenant, we do not have to be circumcised and make animal sacrifices, but only believe that Jesus Christ isindeed the Son of The Living God and accept Him as Lord and Savior and we become partakers of the New Covenant and if we will but stand upon theNew Covenant as David stood upon the Old Covenant or Moses stood on the Old Covenant, there is no doubt but what God will honor His Covenant today. The problem with modern man is that even if he is familiar with the New Covenant, and refuses to stand upon it God cannot honor it. How unfortunatethat is for mankind today, for therein lies the victorious life for mankind upon this earth. Still another illustration of God's absolute determination to honor man's rights and dominion on this earth may be found in Ezekiel 22: 30-32. "...And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: But I found none. Therefore, have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with fire of my wrath: Their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith he Lord God..." (Ezekiel 22: 30-31) In this scripture we find Israel in rebellion against God. They are not living under the terms of the Covenant and Judgment must come upon them for their rebellion. God is telling us that he sought for a man to stand in the gap on their behalf, for He did not desire to bring judgment upon them. It seems that God was bound by His word to bring judgment upon the nation unless someone interceded on their behalf. Since God could find No one to stand in the gap, God was forced to let that judgment. Because of his previously established word, He had no choice. Imagine it! Man possesses that much power with God when he dares to stand upon his Covenant! Whatever must be on the mind of God today in a world which has become so rampant with abortion, homosexuality, child abuse, pornography greed, hatred, humanism and the like. What is holding back the wrath of God today? It could well be those few Christians whose eyes are not blinded and who are interceding on behalf of this nation and the world. My point here is that if the Church, the Body of Christ, will intercede and stand upon that mighty Covenant which we have available today and cease with our doubts and disbelief God will hear and honor our prayers today just as He did David's when he went against Goliath and Moses when he challenged God to honor his Covenant. "Will anyone stand in the gap today?" God must surely be asking today. Our powerful armies certainly are not holding this world together today, nor is our mighty government, nor our great institutions of higher learning, but it is that forgotten "Body of Jesus Christ," the Church that is holding this world together today. One day in the not too distant future that Body of Christ is going to be raptured or taken out of this earth and the Godless people will then realize what havoc will be wreaked upon this earth when the anti-christ comes to power. God is going to give the world that which they desire - a world which is free or almost free of the Christian influence. What a sad day for the world, for such havoc will come upon his earth that has never before been known as the world is literally ripped apart by violence, nuclear war, starvation, pestilence, disease and famine. "...For there shall be a great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time; nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: But for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened..." Scripture tells us that men will beg to die but can't. Many will be saved during this time, but they will face certain death if they turn to Christ but failure to do so will insure an eternity of damnation and separation from the love of God. The Bible tells us that there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth as people come to the realization of what an eternity will be like when the love of God is forever taken away and it dawns upon them that they will spend an eternity in hell. "...But He shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Issac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out..." (Luke 13: 27-28) Can you imagine the fear and trepidation which will seize you when you hear the words, "...depart from me..." and it begins to dawn upon you that you are going to spend an eternity in hell. We are talking about an eternity separated from God and His love. What a travesty that will be. It is no wonder that there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. But it does not have to be that way. Jesus has already paid that price that you might not have to pay it. However, failure on your part to accept that pardon will guarantee your place in hell. I realize that this is plain talk but it must be said. You will not stand before the Great White Throne judgment and tell God that you did not know. This is the reason for both the old and new covenant. The Old Covenant was powerful, but the New Covenant is even more powerful and more perfect. Today we have Jesus Christ as our surety and the Covenant exists between Jesus Christ and God Almighty. That Covenant shall stand forever. "...But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises..." (Hebrews 8:6). Indeed, Jesus Christ has established a better Covenant for us today, the details of which are outlined in he entire New Testament. This Covenant cannot be broken, but you have a choice of becoming a part of this New Covenant. Circumcision is not required today. You only have to receive Jesus Christ as Your Lord and Savior and accept the pardon which He has provided for you. Unless you do that, indeed, you will go into hell and pay the price yourself, for God will not wink at sin. No church membership will redeem any man. Water baptism will not redeem any man. The only way a man can be redeemed is through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. God sill demands absolute perfection which enables you to bypass hell. How tragic it will be for those who do not take the time to know what Jesus actually did for them. He has already paid for your pardon if you will but receive it! The choice is yours. Choose this day whom you will serve - The Lord Jesus Christ or lord Satan! To make no choice is to choose Satan and eternal damnation. When you choose Jesus Christ and allow Him to become your Lord and Savior then His righteousness becomes your righteousness and in the eyes of Almighty God you are even as perfect as is Jesus Christ. This comes not by your works but by your faith in Jesus Christ. His blood was shed for you. All of your sins past, present and future are covered by His blood. There is something about that blood. It is a free gift. It is God's Amazing Grace! You cannot be saved by who you are, what you do or how good you may be. There will be many morally good people in hell simply because they continue to believe falsely that they can become good enough to merit God's forgiveness. You can't you must receive the pardon which Jesus made available to you as a result of His death upon the cross. This is what is known in many circles as being "born again!" Failure to do that will insure you a place in hell! It is just that simple. Hell Is A Reality Granted, many people do not believe in hell, but that does not make it any less a reality. Jesus spoke of hell more than He did of heaven because he wanted people to know that it was for real. All that they need to do today is go to God's Word and study what it has to say about it. Below are just a few scriptures which tells us of the reality of hell. Matt 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (KJV) Matt 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? (KJV) Mark 9:43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: (KJV) Luke 12:5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him. (KJV) Luke 16:23 And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. (KJV) 2 Pet 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; (KJV) It should be noted that the final hell comes after the Great White Throne Judgment when all who are in the temporary hell or those who have died without God and are presently incarcerated in the bowels of the earth while awaiting the Great White Throne Judgment. Rev. 20: 14 noted below speaks of hell being cast into the lake of fire. This means that those who have died without God since the beginning of time who are presently incarcerated in Hades will be cast into that final lake of fire. Rev 20:11-15 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. (KJV) 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 3 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (KJV) Why would a loving God send anyone into an eternal hell? He will not! He has provided mankind a pardon and all that he must do is to accept it. After Jesus, operating under the authority of man, fulfilled the law as God required of man died and went to the cross all of your sins and mine were put upon Him and He paid the price that you and I deserve to pay. If we refuse to accept that pardon then we make the decision ourselves to enter hell to pay the price. You make the choice, not God. Remember, however, to make no choice is to choose Satan. You must decide for yourself. There is no way but through Jesus Christ. That is why Christianity can never compromise with this world system or with any other religion for anything that is not of God is of Satan. Any man who refuses to choose God chooses Satan's system and any man who chooses Satan's system is making the decision to reject that which Jesus has done for him Thus they will, by their own decision, face eternal damnation along with Satan and his demonic horde. Any man who refuses the pardon Jesus Christ has provided shall stand before the Great White Throne Judgment where it will be revealed to him why he must pay the price himself. All who stand before the Great White Throne will have already been condemned. Their life will quickly be flashed before their eyes and they will see every opportunity they had to accept Jesus Christ but refused. And when they are told to "...depart, I never knew you..." and their knees begin to buckle from fear, it is no wonder that there will indeed be weeping and gnashing of teeth. I am reminded of a testimony my daughter gave in church once when she returned from a work and witness trip. She told of a dream she had while on that trip. It seems that she saw a long line of people including her friends as they were moving along falling off into hell as she watched. She could do nothing to stop them. I have heard many others tell of similar dreams or visions, therefore, I know that it was from God as he was trying to tell her that she must do something to let her friends know the imminent danger which they faced. What a privilege it would be to have God speak to you in such a manner but how sad if one fails to heed the message which God gave to them. I have never been able to get that off my mind and I do not think my daughter shall ever forget that dream. It shall always be with her. Sadly many morally good people will face this damnation because they failed to take the time to study God's word and find the truth for themselves. Somehow they rationalize that God is going to weigh their good works against the bad and if the good outweighs the bad they will make it but scripture simply does not support such a popular idea. The great white throne judgment will not be to determine if your good works outweigh your bad, rather it will be to let those who are already condemned know why they are facing eternal damnation. Jesus Christ is the only answer! He is the only way! There can be no mistake, your good deeds or your good works are absolutely worthless in the eyes of God. He said they are but filthy rags! There is nothing you can do to earn eternal life. You must be born again! You must repent of your sins and ask Jesus Christ to become your Lord and Savior. There is no other way! I, therefore, challenge you and urgently beseech you to begin to seek God's truths. He has told us that if we "would seek we would find." Go to God's word and begin to search for these truths. God will certainly not fail you. But you say I just do no believe all this "stuff." That's OK get into God's word with a determination to know the truth and I will absolutely guarantee you upon the authority of God's word that you will find the answers. Just Pray and ask the Holy Spirit, that if He is for real, to reveal the truth to you. You will be surprised at what you will begin to find in God's Holy Word. I know because I have been here. At one point in my life I found myself in a near state of disbelief of God. I really believed that all of the answers to all of the problems of mankind could be resolved through education. It was only after I got into God's word and began to search the scriptures that I found the truths which were locked therein and came to realize that few or no answers will be found anywhere except through Jesus Christ. There is nothing more important in your life than finding Jesus Christ and inviting Him to become your Lord and Savior. Even the job of the President of the United States pales beside your seeking the truths of God's word. Suffice it to say that it is not what I say, but what God's word says that will change your life forever. Your eternal destiny may depend upon how you take this challenge! Jesus said, "you must be born again." "...Jesus answered and said to him, 'Most assuredly, I say to You, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God..." (John 3:3 NKJV) My friend, there is no other way! You may ask how can I receive this promise of eternal life. Romans 10:9 gives you the essential ingredients for salvation. It is so simple yet so important. "...if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus Christ, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation..." Then in verse 13 we read: "...For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be Saved..." Just pray this prayer and mean it in your heart and you have it on the authority of God's word that you will be born again and will never have to stand before that great white throne judgment. "Father, I come humbly before You today to confess Jesus Christ as my Lord andSavior. Though I may not fully understand what this is all about, I do believe that Jesus Christ is Your son, that he came into this earth and took my sins upon himself and died for them. He was raised up and now reigns on the Throne with You. I invite Jesus Christ to come into my heart and forgive my sins this very moment and I submit to His lordship. I thank you and praise you for saving me today and I shall serve You the rest of my live!" If you prayed this prayer or some similar prayer and you meant it, then you have it on the authority of His word that you are born again. At this point you should get into his word and begin to study and renew your mind . If you refuse to so humble yourself before the hand of Almighty God you can rest assured that some day you shall bow the knee and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord but it will be everlastingly too late and you will have to go into the very pit of hell and pay the price which Jesus has already paid. Submitted In Jesus' Name by Raymond Clarke 1609 Lakeview Drive NW Cullman, AL 35055 jodyc@python.viper.net (Raymond Clarke) *********************** TRUSTY Ša dog story By Barbara Aho timbarbaho@msn.com Once there was a dog named Trusty. He lived with a family called the Hunters. They were a fine, upstanding family who lived in a small town named Dry Gulch. The Hunter family cared very much about Dry Gulch and would always do whatever they could to promote the general welfare of the townspeople. Because they were "hunters," just like their name said, they recognized the responsibility they had to protect Dry Gulch from the wild bears, snakes and other dangerous animals that lived in the nearby woods. Trusty was by nature and breeding a true hunting dog. Even from a pup he loved to go with his master, Jeb Hunter, into the woods to track down a wild animal that had threatened the townspeople. He too cared about the people and had a natural instinct for finding the killer beast. Everyone loved and depended on Trusty and Jeb to protect the town. Trusty was devoted to his master and had been trained to obey his every command. Jeb Hunter was so very kind to his dog (and to everyone) that Trusty did not question any of his master's orders. There had never been any reason to doubt the master's good intentions toward the little town of Dry Gulch. Trusty's family also lived with the Hunters - his father, mother, brother and sister. Trusty's mother was an old dog who could no longer join in the hunt, since she could neither run fast nor follow a scent on the trail through the woods. Those days were over and she now spent her hours lazily roaming through the town and the neighboring areas. She was so proud of Trusty, not only for his natural skill as a hunting dog, but for his almost human concern for the welfare of the townspeople. It didn't bother her that she had to retire from the hunt, for she knew that Trusty and Jeb were very capable of doing the job right. One day, a new family named the Fellers moved into Dry Gulch. They were from the big city and were very welthy. Rocky Feller was a successful businessman and he soon became one of the town leaders. Unfortunately, Rocky and his family were not as interested in the well-being of the townspeople as they were in becoming richer and more powerful (as we shall see later). As Trusty's mother meandered through the streets and alleys of Dry Gulch each day, she began to sense that things were not quite right in the happy little town. Something very sinister seemed to be afoot in the humble community. As she observed Mr. Rocky Feller and the others in this prominent family, she asked herself many questions. Why did Rocky leave town frequently to meet with his rich friends in the other towns? Why did he come back to Dry Gulch with so many strange new ideas? Why did he put his family in charge of the town bank? Why were only his relatives and close friends elected to public office in Dry Gulch? And why did these same people run the town newspaper? Why were all the children expected to attend the public school instead of the church school? And why was he putting pressure on everyone in the town to join a new church which did not even teach the Bible? The old dog decided that she would spend her final days investigating the strange turn of events that had come to pass in Dry Gulch. Mr. Rocky Feller had noticed that Jeb Hunter and his family were very respected by the townspeople and he soon asked Jeb if he would run for sheriff of Dry Gulch. Jeb had no trouble winning the election as everyone already loved and had great confidence in him. Trusty was very excited because now he could help his master to protect the town from the outlaws, which everyone feared even more than the wild animals. In fact, Mr. Rocky Feller was going to send Jeb and Trusty to a training school in a far away place to learn more effective ways of "advancing the welfare of society." Soon Dry Gulch would be free of all of the problems that were a part of everyday life in the Wild West and would become the perfect town, according to Mr. Rocky Feller. At the training school, Jeb and Trusty learned that the only way to solve the local problems of Dry Gulch would be for the citizens to give up their independent form of self-government and join with all the other Western towns to be ruled by a humanitarian organization called the "United West." (U.W.) After all, the people of Dry Gulch and the other Western towns were not very progressive and needed the worldly wisdom and careful supervision of Rocky Feller and his business associates to have a new perfect society. They also learned that the real problem in Dry Gulch was not the outlaws that robbed and killed the townspeople, but the Christians and their Bible. This Bible told everyone that they were sinful and would go to a bad place if they did not repent and trust the Lord Jesus Christ to save them from their sins. (Romans 3:23,24) This made the outlaws feel bad about their deeds and, for this reason, they became angry and killed people. So, when the New Western Order was established, the sheriff and his deputies would be in charge of the "Final Solution" to reeducate the radical Christian sect and get rid of their Bibles. With this morbid and negative influence out of the way, the outlaws and the townspeople would be free to take a Quantum Leap into the Universal Consciousness of their "inherent godhood" and love one other as they are naturally inclined to do without a guilt trip. (II Thess. 2:10,11) Although Jeb and Trusty did not understand what "Final Solution" meant, they were happy to hear that the sheriff's department would be an important part of this plan for a "kinder, gentler Dry Gulch." They took many interesting classes in economics, religion and politics and studied very hard the textbooks they received, which were: "The Mark of the Beast," "The ApoState Church," and "How The West Was One." (Rev. 13, 17, 18) Meanwhile, back in Dry Gulch, Trusty's mother was lingering about the Rocky Feller Ranch, hoping to discover what was behind the strange goings on in Dry Gulch. Because she was so old and seemingly senile, nobody paid much attention as she curled up on the ground near the house under a window and pretended she was asleep. There she overheard the talk that came from the parlour, and she did not like what she was hearing one bit!! (II Pet. 2:7,8) Apparently, as was stated earlier, the Rocky Fellers were not as interested in the well-being of Dry Gulch as they seemed to be. They had a secret plan to become the dictators, not only of the town, but of the entire West. Their rich friends in the other towns shared the same selfish ambition and together they had formed two clubs, the Conspiracy against Freedom and Rights (C.F.R.) and the Treason Commission. They often held secret meetings to discuss "The Plan" which they were developing to take over the West and to keep all the gold for themselves. In order to implement this evil plan, they would first have to convince the townspeople to give up their sovereignty and then theywould make them slaves of the New Western Order. They planned to use the sheriff's department as part of a Western police force to imprison and execute anyone who had a negative attitude and resisted joining the new government and religious system. (Dan. 7:19-25; 11:33; Rev. 13:7) "Oh dear!" thought Trusty's mother, "How can this be happening in Dry Gulch? I must forewarn the townspeople about it and, above all, I must tell Trusty so that he can inform his master! But how can I warn humans when I am only a dog and cannot talk? I will at least tell Trusty and I know that he will find a way to communicate to Jeb Hunter this awful plan." When Trusty arrived home from the training school, he told his whole family about the wonderful new plan that he had learned for the social advancement of Dry Gulch. "The Sheriff's Department has signed a 'Contract' with all the townspeople promising that we are finally going to turn Dry Gulch around," he said, "and in order to accomplish this, we have another secret plan with all the other towns to form a New Western Order." They listened attentively as Trusty described the wonderful plan for a New Order that would unify Dry Gulch and all the Western towns to finally bring law and order to the West. Everyone was so proud of Trusty, who had just been made Deputy Dog of Dry Gulch. They were also very happy for the little town of Dry Gulch - all, that is, except Trusty's mother. With tears in her eyes, the grand old dame then proceeded to tell her family about the other plan that she had overheard while eavesdropping at the Rocky Feller Ranch. Most of all, she could hardly bear to tell them about the program to terminate the good Christians and to destroy their Bible, which teaches people about the Lord Jesus who died to save them. "That's incredible!," they said. "Why, the Rocky Fellers and all of their associates are such fine, decent people. They have only the best interests of Dry Gulch at heart. They would never try to take all the power and gold for themselves!" And so, no one would believe her. (Mark 6:4) "Oh, what shall I do, Lord?" she prayed, "I feel so very helpless. I taught my son from the time he was a puppy to be a faithful dog and to always do what is right. Now he is a fine young dog and I have encouraged him to be loyal to his master and to help protect the townspeople. Trusty and his master have not heard the secret plan you allowed me to hear at the Rocky Feller Ranch. Trusty must think I am imagining these terrible things and have finally gone mad. O, Lord, will you please help me to show him the secret plan? Trusty and Jeb could then expose it to the townspeople and they may even be able to save Dry Gulch from this dreadful fate. (Daniel 11:32b) "And if that is not possible, at least Trusty and Jeb must refuse to carry out the 'Final Solution' for the Christians. The Bible (which the Rocky Fellers plan to get rid of) says that anyone who takes part in this evil system won't go to Dog Heaven (or People Heaven) according to Revelation 14:9,10. O, Heavenly Father, please help Trusty to realize what these evil men are planning to do and to warn his master and the others in the Sheriff's Department. Please, Lord, do not let him be deceived or have any part in the New Western Order. (Matthew 24:24) In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen." How will this story end? Is this the end of Dry Gulch as we know it? (I Pet. 4:7; II Pet. 3:12,13) Will Trusty investigate the matter to see if there really is an evil plot to take over the town of Dry Gulch? (Prov. 25:2) Will he tell his master, Jeb Hunter? (Prov. 14:25) Will Trusty and Jeb Hunter be part of the New Western Order or will they warn the rest of the town about it? (Prov. 24:11,12) Will some Christians be reeducated and then join the New Western Order? (II Thess. 2:3,11) What is the "Final Solution" for those who don't? (Rev. 6:9-11) Be sure to read the next exciting adventure of "TRUSTY" (coming sooner than you think) to see what will happen to Trusty and Jeb and the little town of Dry Gulch. ********************** They Shall Prosper that Love Thee By: Lori Fiechter Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: The city of God in the hands of men! Peace be to thee, without and within; They shall prosper that love thee, Jerusalem! Solomon's glory is long past and gone; You have been a hissing; an object of scorn. Now a burdensome stone for the nations you are: Though tiny in size, yet how Judah does roar! Your friends are but few, while foes do abound; Israel is upbraided by all those around. Is there none to stand with you from the nations of men? You're beleaguered on all sides, Jerusalem! But lift up your head for redemption is near: Those dwelling in Zion shall live without fear! City chosen of God, though contested by men, You shall yet be a praise in the earth once again! (For Jehovah shall comfort Jerusalem!) Lori Fiechter 10-24-96 ************************ PropheZine NewsBytes Editors Note: I was very excited when I found out about The House of Harrari. I contacted them right away and asked permission to help them spread the word about thier harps. I found it paradoxal when thinking, that if I sponsored a harp to be made and then we were Raptured, in 7 years time I when we would come back with our Lord to help rule; that if at that time I would enter the temple in Jerusalem and find the harp I sponsored and then tell the Levite playing it, I helped in having that harp made so that you can sing praises to the Messiah. Pretty trippy heh? --Ray PZ -- Sponsor a Harp for the Temple From: http://www.virtual.co.il/arts/harrari/ This year is the official celebration of the 3000th anniversary of the uniting of ancient Jerusalem by King David. During his lifetime, King David personally collected most of the materials used to build the Temple, its furnishings, utensils and chambers. In the time of the Holy Temple, it was through the tribe of Levi that the work of the Temple was carried out. Of their various jobs in the services there, the playing of music and singing was an important part. 4000 Levites sang and played in the orchestra, including their sons and daughters (Chronicles 23:5; 25:2). Nowadays no one knows how the music was arranged, but the Talmud teaches that on the pilgrim festivals of Pesach, Shavuot and Succot, there were so many harps played that the sound of the harp was heard in Jericho. When we had to leave the land of Israel and go into exile we hung those very same harps on the willow trees. "For how can we sing the Lord's song in a strange land." (Psalm 137). And the harp of the Temple became silent and disappeared into the winds of time. About 2500 years ago, the Biblical prophets spoke of a time to come when the descendants of these people would return to the land of their ancestors and restore what was lost. Following in that tradition and in honor of this special year, we are beginning a new direction in our work with the biblical harps of David. We are building a limited edition of 3000 Levitical harps for use in the next Temple. We are inviting congregations world-wide to sponsor a Levitical harp which will be built and delivered as a centerpiece cared for and prayed for and finally returned to Jerusalem when the temple is rebuilt. Each harp will have the Levitical symbol on the harp and the stone of the Levitical tribe inlaid into the crown. In this manner, those who understand the implications of such a project can take an active part in the actual re-building process. Each harp will be registered with the name of the sponsoring congregation or individual onto a special Temple scroll, to be presented to the chief Levite in charge of the Temple orchestra when the time comes into its fulfillment. The harp will arrive to the congregation with a special certificate and brass plaque for public display. Private donations to this project are also welcome. For us personally this represents the beginning of a new era as we draw closer to the time of redemption and the re-dedication of the Holy Temple "A House of Prayer for all Nations". For further information please write: The House of Harrari fax and telephone #: 972-2-255-191, e-mail address: harari@virtual.co.il" Correspondence to: House of Harrari, P.O. Box 1577, Jerusalem, Israel Visit our store located at: 7 Maalot Nachalat Shiva Street, Jerusalem, Israel ©All designs copyrighted. +++++++++++++++++ An Editorial By John Loeffler of Steel on Steel loeffler@iea.com It has become fashionable for people on the left to chirp "extremist" at any viewpoint that is set against something they believe. This is quite amusing when one considers that the great and good of today's political correctness movement are the radical leftists of thirty years ago. What is called extreme right today is descriptive of where the culture was thirty years ago when the radical leftist flower children commenced their change of society. Over that period of time, leftist academics, to the cheering of the media, have pounded the culture with a constant socialist, left leaning drumbeat. Generation after generation educated by this drumbeat began moving leftward, and assumed it's view to be the cultural mainstream. Now, they have discovered a whole crowd of people who didn't move left with them, the ones they're calling radical right. "Moderation" has become the mantra of choice. Was the civil rights movement of the early 1960s a moderate movement?. Absolutely not. It was driven by people standing (with their lives in some cases) for a political change they believed was essential. What about the various anti-war and university protests that dotted the 1960s and early 70s? Were they moderate? Moderation comes from a combination of I'm O.K.-- You're O.K. psychology combined with a philosophy that there is no such thing as absolute truth. Notice there are never condemnations of those who are extreme about their "moderation" which is really a form of militant mediocrity. It's tragic but even Christians -- who should know better -- have gotten sucked up into this mode of thought. Since there is no such thing as absolute truth, the reasoning goes, no one should believe anything too much. Therefore all ideas have equal weight, all cultures are equally good and no one should criticize anyone else since all our ideas are wonderful -- insert warm fuzzy group hug here -- and peace on earth is just around the corner. The real consequences of this pablum now in vogue are staggering. The entire culture has been placed on an ocean of floating, contradictory values which are determined by the pop fad of the moment rather than by more solid concepts of right and wrong. For example, it is argued that since homosexuals form 1-2% of global populations, this is a normal genetic trait and should be accepted by society. Gays maintain they cannot unlearn their behavior. However, never is it argued that since homophobia occurs worldwide in predictable amounts among straight men, this is likewise genetic. No, homophobia is a learned disorder, homosexuality is not. Who said? Nobody but it just sounds right and since there are no absolute values, who's to say? What about feminists who argue strongly in favor of a woman's right to choose? Are the same feminists in favor of a woman's right to abort a female foetus because it's a girl? Of course not. The very same people who will tell you that the public has no right to tell a woman what to do with her own body will start telling that woman what to do with her body. But that's the fun of making your own truth up as you go. Since homosexuality is allegedly genetic, and most gays are in favor of a woman's right to choose, are they likewise in favor of parents aborting a potentially homosexual baby if we could figure out which gene causes it? Right -- when Greenwich Village votes for James Dobson. The contradictions of relative truths flooding the culture, especially the judicial system, are dangerous to our future stability. There are no rules except that we have no rules except toleration of all rules except those rules that say we mustn't tolerate something, and we can't tolerate that; that would be intolerant. Did you follow that? Good. I didn't either but that is the nonsense being foisted on us today. For a Christian, the argument should NEVER be over whether or not there is an absolute truth -- the Bible tells us there is. The argument is over whether or not our ideas, views, theology and philosophies come close to that truth. This provides us with hard core references in a sea of floating and constantly changing public values. The next time someone says to you "that's just your truth" or "there is no such thing as absolute truth," ask them to hand over YOUR money which is in THEIR wallet or purse. You'll see how fast they really believe what they're saying about no absolutes. I guarantee it -- absolutely! John Loeffler Steel on Steel Productions P.O. 3358 Hayden, ID 83835-3358 ++++++++++++++++ Yet Another Executive Order By The White House Press Published in today (13 November 1996)'s Chicago *Sun-Times*, page 42) From the White House: "On November 14, 1994, by Executive Order 12938. I declared a emergency with respect to the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States posed by the proliferation of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons ('weapons of mass destruction') and the means of delivering such weapons. Because the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering them continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy to the United States, the national emergency declared on November 14, 1994, and extended on November 14, 1995, must continue in effect beyond NOvember 14, 1996. Therefore, in accordance with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing the national emergency declared in Executive Order 12938.This notice shall be published in the Federal Register and transmitted to the Congress." ++++++++++++++++++ Smart Card Update From: A PZ reader who's name I missplaced I got the following from the Dec 96 issue of PC novice. Although smart cards may not yet be prevalent in wallets around the country, next year you may not leave home without one. Microsoft is working with companies such as Hewlett-Packard, France's Groupe Bull, germany's Siemens AG, and Schlumberger Ltd. to integrate smart cards with Pc's. Smart Cards are another way to keepcash on hand; you purchase an amount of credit, and the card stores the money amount on a chip, electronically deducting the purchases. Imagine buying a new software game via the internet by plugging a smart card into a slot on the side of your computer. Currently, the companies are developing technical standards for smart cards, smart card readers, and PC's. Microsoft hopes to incorporate support for smart cards into its Windows operating system and Internet products and provide preliminary releases of key components to developers by the end of the year. +++++++++++++++++ Sylvia's News Notes 11/15/96 By: Sylvia Genders LeReverend sylvia@itrc.on.ca *** Cuba hails world support against U.S. embargo Cuba welcomed as a "complete success" a larger-than-ever vote by the U.N. General Assembly against the longstanding U.S. economic embargo on the island. Vice President Carlos Lage said that the vote in favor of a resolution calling for an end to the embargo showed Washington's international isolation, and worldwide rejection of a U.S. move in March to toughen the sanctions. It was the fifth consecutive year that the General Assembly has adopted a resolution calling for an end to the embargo, which is more than three decades old. For the full text story, see http://www.merc.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=506862-74a *** Palestinians blast Israel at Cairo conference Palestinians lashed out at Israel at a Middle East economic conference Tuesday, accusing its right-wing government of strangling their economy and hindering regional cooperation. But U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher, who met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Palestinian l eader Yasser Arafat at the conference, said he still believed an Israeli-Palestinian agreement on Hebron was "close at hand." Christopher's spokesman Nicholas Burns advised against expecting a deal in the next few days. For the full text story, see http://www.merc.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=504119-32f *** Scientists seek more cash to track asteroids The earth could be hit any time by a deadly asteroid, and governments should fund more programs to seek them out and find ways of destroying them, British and Australian astronomers said Tuesday. One astronomer said, "People like to imagine that there are battalions of astronomers scouring the skies. There aren't." He said a person's risk of being killed by a collision is four times higher than that of being killed in an air crash, though the risk of an actual asteroid collision is much lower than the risk that a passenger jet will crash. For the full text story, see http://www.merc.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=505541-901 **** An earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale and centered in the Pacific Ocean shook southern Peru yesterday killing 15 and injuring up to 500 people. - city of Nazca 290 miles south of Lima was hit hardest. *** Ariane launches satellites for Arab bloc, Malaysia Western Europe's 92nd Ariane rocket blasted off from French Guiana Wednesday, carrying satellites for the 21-nation Arab League and Malaysia. Twenty minutes after takeoff, space officials said the ARABSAT 2B satellite separated from the rocket. Five minutes later MEASAT 2 for Malaysia's satellite operator Binariang was released into space. The launch was the fifth Ariane mission since the failure of an Ariane-5 rocket June 4, the first of a new generation, 37 seconds after its maiden launch in Kourou, French Guiana. For the full text story, see http://www.merc.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=513797-eef *** Netanyahu cancels U.S. trip on Hebron deal hopes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled a trip to the United States Wednesday amid signs that a deal with the Palestinians on the issue of Hebron might be close. An Israeli official said the Hebron deal may happen Wednesday or Thursday. Negotiators are trying to seal an accord under which Israeli troops would hand over 80 percent of the town to Palestinian police. Netanyahu wants to modify a deal signed by Israel's previous government to safeguard the settlers. the full text story, see http://www.merc.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=512665-9cd *** Russia threatens reprisals in spy feud with U.S. Russia threatened "tangible" reprisals Wednesday if an ex-Soviet KGB agent arrested in the United States last month was not released unconditionally, saying U.S.-Russian ties faced serious harm. "The FBI cannot ignore the fact that former U.S. spies working in Russia will face similiar measures," said Tatyana Samolis, a Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) spokeswoman. Kremlin spymasters are furious over the arrest of Vladimir Galkin on a visit to New York after he openly acknowledged his old profession. For the full text story, see http://www.merc.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=511541-43a *** China would go to war over Taiwan independence Singapore Defense Minister, Tony Tan, said Wednesday China will go to war if Taiwan declares independence. Tan, a deputy prime minister, said issues of human rights, bitter trade disputes and violations of intellectual property rights would not lead to a break in ties between Washington and Beijing. He added that the issue of Taiwan is non-negotiable for China. "Taiwan also knows the U.S. is the only superpower left, and the only one that can possibly help Taiwan to gain independence. Beijing considers Taiwan a renegade province. For the full text story, see http://www.merc.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=510668-fe6 *** Egypt nominates Boutros-Ghali for second term Egypt has nominated U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali for election to a second term, setting the stage for an expected United States veto as early as next Monday, council sources said Wednesday. The United States, which has a veto, has repeatedly threatened to block a second term for Boutros-Ghali. The nomination will be discussed when the council holds consultations Monday and then put to a vote at a formal meeting. If Boutros-Ghali is vetoed Monday, other candidates could be nominated. For the full text story, see http://www.merc.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=511172-a2d *** Sex online is cheating - author Sex online for married couples is cheating, said John Gray, author of "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus." In the December issue of Yahoo! Internet Life magazine (www.yil.com), Gray warns that the Internet is no place for fantasy sexual escapades, particularly for married individuals. "The Internet is dangerous because people don't have a sense of shame that they are doing something wrong to their partner," he said. For the full text story, see http://www.merc.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=509404-286 * Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday cancelled a scheduled trip to the US, reportedly due to a pending agreement with Palestinians concerning Israeli withdrawals from Hebron. * Whitewater prosecutors yesterday acknowledged that former Clinton partner James McDougal has been cooperating in investigations against the President and first lady. * Deputy Defense Secretary John White, speaking to the Presidentia Advisory Committee on Gulf War Illnesses yesterday, said that it is possible the Defense Dept. and the CIA have acted to cover up evidence of US troop exposure to chemical weapons. * A UN World Food Summit opened yesterday in Rome to answer questions of food shortages.- UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates food production will have to rise 75% in the next 30 years to keep up with the growing world population. +++++++++++++++++++++ A New World Order? By: Rudy Hulstrom 102551.1063@Compuserve.Com This is not a new concept, as you would call new. It is as old as creation itself. The idea of a global government sprang from the mind of man,through the influence of Satan,or the Devil. Let's take a quick look at the Bible's book of Genesis chapter 11. After the flood{which destroyed the then wicked world} Noah and his family were to be the rebirth of humanity on earth,with the goal of righteousness. But as human nature was and is still evil, the result was another attempt to "unify"the world. Against God's wishes. The sons of Noah,Ham Shem and Japheth, were the founders of the new worlds civilization and through time built the then known world. The following is the answer God has given to the attempt of building a"new world order". It is no different today! Genesis 11:1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. 3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. 4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. 5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. 6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. 7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. 8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. 9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. (That was the first real attempt at buliding a global government. This idea has been in the mind of man since then.It has taken different twists and turns throughout history,with the very same goal in mind. Thetot al control of the world's population through force,if neccessay. That was"in the beginning",but what about today? Is there a plan to build a"one world government"? A plot to take control of the human population? The answer is yes and by the very word of God himself. Let's take a quick look at the Bible's book of Revelation. The Apostle John was given this vision of the last days by Jesus Christ himself. This is a vision of the terrible times that are to come on this earth according to the Bible. Please get a copy of the Bible and read this entire book of Revelation for yourself.If what is written here is true then we must make certain decisions that will keep us from the devastation that is promised. See John 3:16 and Romans 10:9-10 ) Revelation 17:1 And there came one of the seven angels(which represent the last seven plagues of the tribulation period) which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: 2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. 3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: 5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. 7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. 12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. (Could these"ten kings"be 10 regional world leaders? Could they be the result of United Nations plans to divide the world into 10 regions for the purpose of global control? Please think of this one thing. If these"ten kings"were real kings,then they would have countries to reign over. But the word says that "they received no kingdom as yet",not kingdoms. I submit that these 10 kings will be regional leaders that will ultimately"give their power and strength unto the beast"(the anti-christ world dictator) 14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. 15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. (Here you see that global control is the goal of this plan and that this plan is prophesied by God. To bring glory and honor to himself. Yes there is a global government on the way. It has been prophesied by the word of God and is to be fulfilled by man. Yes there is a conspiracy to form a world government! The governments of the world ,through the United Nations,are unknowingly fulfilling the plans of God,thinking that this is a plan of their own! 16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. 17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. Yes,there is a global government coming! This New World Order will be nothing less than a global dictatorship! Even now there are forces at work who truly believe that this is a good thing! Because the people of earth are ignorant and need their"help". Every other type of"New World Order"has had the same ideals and goals,the complete suppression of the human race.Every other attempt at global control has begun with a form of socialist government,and here in the United States it is no different.The incorporation of socialist ideas over the last fifty years in this country has only been used to open the door for this "New World Order" For a list of other reports on the New World Order send a self-addressed-stamped envelope to Rudy Hulstrom 1504 Cardinal. Melrose Park,IL. 60160 For a list by E-Mail send to 102551.1063@Compuserve.Com (ask for list of New World Order reports) +++++++++++++++++++++ WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION IN TERRORISM The Emerging Threat Posed by Non-State Proliferation by James K. Campbell Commander, U.S. Navy 27 October 1996 To date most informed opinions on non-state political violence suggest that terrorist of the future will neither seek to develop, nor threaten to use weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Arguments supporting this position are typically presented through a framework of anachronistic assumptions that have been in use since the days of the late nineteenth century Russian Nihilist movement. These assumptions suggest that first, the terrorist groups are nothing more than a collection of frustrated, political actors bent on correcting a perceived flaw in the socio-political order of the state. The cause to take up terrorism evolves adjunct to their failure or inability to influence objectional political, economic and/or social conditions that define their environment. Second, it is assumed that these frustrated actors adopt terrorism as a means to press their political agenda through the use of directed and modulated violence. This violence is designed to communicate a complex message that primarily gains the terrorist group public recognition for their cause. Unmitigated destruction and violence is not the goal as noted by Brian Jenkins who suggests that "terrorists want a lot of people watching, not a lot of people dead." A third assumption suggests that terrorists are "mirror imaging rational actors," e.g., their behavior is normative. As such they are subsumed to understand that exceeding a certain violence threshold may result in a globally enjoined effort to eradicate them. Finally it is assumed that the technology and associated costs involved in the development and production of weapons of mass destruction are beyond the reach of the non- state group. For these reasons the image of the classical terrorist of the twentieth century has not included WMD. However, these traditional arguments have arguably weakened due to the changing nature of the terrorist phenomenon. Specifically these changes are emerging in areas related to supply and demand variables, variables that certainly influence a non-state group's decision to develop and use WMD. Supply issues suggest that first, the availability of materials and technical requirements to produce "lo-tech" WMD are well within the reach of contemporary non-state groups; second, that many groups have the financial capacity to fund such programs; and third, that individuals knowledgeable of WMD technologies are involved with groups that might threaten the use of WMD. Demand issues suggest that ownership and use of WMD by a non-state group provides a powerful negotiating tool, status, and power. Thomas Schelling notes that a terrorist organization which achieves a WMD capability ascends to a higher position of relative power and prestige. Of note, the absence of territorial boundaries in the case of the non-state group serves to make state retaliation difficult as the terrorist become hard to target, a problem that Marrs suggests serves to "vitiate the retaliatory threats of the state." Third, non-state groups that embrace religious ideologies affiliated with apocalyptic millennialism, redemptive religious fanaticism or racist/ethnic hate may not operate according to traditional terrorist logic. In many of these groups, egregious acts of an extremely violent nature are viewed as either sanctioned or demanded by God. Where traditional terrorists typically operate within certain violence thresholds, those operating under the interpreted direction of the Almighty are arguably not subject to the same constraints. Non-state groups operating under the "cloak of religion" might very well be the most likely candidates to use the unlimited or disproportionate violence WMD affords. The "Post-Modern Terrorist" or "The Revolution in Terrorist Affairs" Much as scientific, technological, and social changes continually influence the manner and mediums by which artists express themselves, so to have these things influenced the behavior and enhanced the capabilities of the terrorist. The attenuation of traditional means to ends in recent terrorist acts is evident in the bombing of Pan Am flight 103; the 1993 World Trade Center complex bombing; the 1995 Oklahoma Federal Building bombing and Tokyo nerve gas attack; the 1996 Hamas bombings in Israel, IRA bombings in London, the Islamic radical bombings in Saudi Arabia, the bombing of a pavilion at the Atlanta Olympics, and what appears to be the work of terrorists in the downing of TWA flight 800. These ultra-violent acts suggest the days of constrained violence are diminishing. New twists on old ideological imperatives coupled with the availability of more lethal weapons and weapon related technologies are rapidly enabling the terrorist to cause maximum death and destruction. Of increasing occurrence is the ultra-violent terrorist act followed by silence. Many times in recent years terrorist acts have been committed without a group "stepping forward" to claim credit for the event. Events such as the downing of Pan Am flight 103, the Air India flight that crashed off of the Irish coast in 1988, the recent terrorist bombing at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, all suggest a "shift" in terms of the message the terrorist act is supposed to send. Where traditional terrorists use the event to gain access to a "bully-pulpit" to air their grievances, these "silent terrorist" send a silent message creating a superordinary sense of overwhelming fear, and vulnerability. By not claiming responsibility for the event, non-state (or state supported) groups may actually be able to do more damage to the selected target. The fact that no one group has stepped forward to claim responsibility for the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing has, at a minimum, caused difficulties between the U.S. and her economic allies, heightening tensions between the Islamic countries of Libya, Iran, Sudan and Syria vis-a-vis the U.S. This could represent part of a new non-state strategy to polarize the Islamic community against the West, while at the same time causing a divisiveness between Western allies. This change in the characterization of terrorism may be indicative of a new era, one in which the traditional, "constrained," terrorist of the twentieth century is supplanted by the ultra- violent "post-modern terrorist" of the twenty-first century who uses advanced technology, and anonymity, to conduct destructive acts traditionally viewed as disproportionate to desired ends. Genesis of the "Post Modern Terrorist" Expanding on a general theme discussed recently by Walter Laqueur, the emergence of the "post-modern terrorist" appears to have two causes. One may be religious revivalism. Religion has played a part in legitimizing extremes of violence throughout history, tendencies that are generally constrained in traditionally (secular-political) oriented, non-state groups. Ultra- violent terrorist acts rooted in religious imperatives can be seen in Sri Lanka, where Tamil Hindus are waging a bloody terrorist campaign against the Sinhalese Buddhists; in India and Pakistan where Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslim extremist groups engage in violent struggles; in Israel, where both radical Palestinian and Israeli movements have caused great injury and death in the name of God. The success of Khomeini's 1979 Islamic Revolution has also been viewed as enhancing the level of violence in terrorist activities perpetrated by radical Islamists world- wide. The second cause is arguably related to the removal of constraints imposed by the Cold War, and the subsequent disintegration of a bipolar world order. As a result of this disintegration, a new world disorder seems to have emerged in which the legitimacy of many states is being challenged from within by increasing non-state calls for self-determination. Huntington affirms this trend in a recent essay in which he suggests that the causes of future conflict will be rooted in a clash of cultures. He argues that ethnic and religious movements will supplant traditional political ideologies with cultural ones. Where these movements cross each other, bloody conflict will erupt. Prime examples of this phenomenon can already be seen in Algeria, Somalia, Egypt, Sudan, Rwanda, Chechnya, the Balkans, Indonesia - and even here in the United States. These movements often prey on the insecurities of the population, offering to fill the psychological, sociological, political or religious security needs of those who would join them. Examples of such groups have emerged in the form of the Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo; the Identity movement in the U.S.; and the radical Islamic revivalist movements that exist in a variety of countries. These religiously oriented groups appear to share a common ideological thread that rejects existing societal structures and demand a structural revision of the world in a manner that will ensure their own dominance. To this end, the threat or actual use of WMD may be the method by which they believe they can paralyze the state without having to expose themselves. Capitalizing on the highly cultivated fear WMD use engenders could permit the non-state group to "snatch" a piece of power from the state as it tries to respond to the crises, and manage the consequence of the threatened attack. Thus, armed with WMD, the non-state group is enabled to press home an agenda without having to engage in protracted social movements or insurgency. Conclusion WMD use can cause mass casualties and substantial infrastructure disruption, far more than that caused by any previous terrorist incident. Since the threat to use WMD affords the non- state group a powerful tool that heretofore has not been available to them, non-state proliferation presents a security dilemma that the global community must actively attempt to resolve. Recognizing the WMD threat in general terms, President Clinton signed Executive Order No. 12938 on November 14, 1994. This order declared a national emergency with respect to the unusual and extraordinary threat proliferation of weapons of mass destruction pose to the national security, foreign interest, and economy of the United States. On November 9, 1995, a continuation of this order was declared by Executive notice. This declared state of a national emergency has continued. Despite the existence of a robust, widely supported international regime to control the spread of WMD, the consensus of various scholars and policy makers, identifies WMD proliferation as the top security threat our Nation faces today. Senator Sam Nunn's address concerning proliferation echoes these sentiments: The number one security challenge in the United States now and probably for years ahead is to prevent these weapons of mass destruction, whether chemical, biological or nuclear, and the scientific knowledge of how to make them, from going all over the world to rogue groups, to terrorist groups, to rogue nations. Raising the specter of this concern, in March of 1995, members of the Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo released nerve gas in a Tokyo subway, resulting in the death of 12 people and the injury of 5000. Following this horrendous act, Congressional hearings on the potential for continued non-state group employment of WMD concluded with the assertion that non-state proliferation poses a difficult challenge to our National security primarily because these groups are exceptionally hard to target, and much harder to deter, more so than say an identifiable rogue state. It is intimately clear that when a non-state group such as Aum is able to develop a WMD capability, an endemic failure within the international community exists that must certainly be remedied. That failure relates to two significant deficiencies. First, our collective, intelligence capabilities to identify such groups early on needs to be improved. As discussed in Congressional hearings held in November of 1995, the threat posed by Aum was never even on our intelligence "radar screens." If we are going to beat these "bad guys," we must fine tune our intelligence apparatus so that we may identify these groups, their capabilities and intentions. By doing this we assure ourselves the ability to operate inside the terrorist group's "decision making loop." Operating inside this "loop" will allow us to preempt the terrorist action before it occurs. Second, export controls and domestic efforts to restrict the sale of chemical/biological precursors, dual use technology and equipment must be strengthened. Aum has proven that a determined non-state group can amass material, know-how, and equipment to develop and threaten the use of WMD. The concern now lies in discerning what the next group will do having learned from Aum's mistakes. A robust effort to improve our knowledge of terrorist groups through human and open source intelligence gathering, coupled with strengthened efforts to control access to chemical and biological agents, their precursors and duel use equipment, will certainly help to minimize the WMD threat posed by these "post-modern-terrorists." +++++++++++++++ F.Y.I. - Israel In The News Week Ending: November 16, 1996/Kislev 5, 5757 "Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; the recompense of God will come, but He will save you." Isaiah 35.4 HEVRON UPDATE: Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have finished their work for the week, without the expected agreement on an Israeli withdrawal from Hevron. Israel wants new restrictions on the Palestinian Authority's (PA) operations in Hevron and the right for Israeli forces to enter PA-controlled parts of the city in pursuit of alleged terrorists. The Palestinians refuse, and demand a written promise from Israel's new government that it will implement other parts of the latest piece accord. Meanwhile, hundreds of scouts from Hevron's elementary and high schools marched through Hevron on Thursday to mark Palestinian Independence Day -- the day in 1988, five years before the Israeli/Palestinian piece accord -- when PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat declared Palestinian statehood in Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip. The celebration continued on through Saturday. Ministers are demanding to see the agreement and to be permitted to study it carefully prior to being asked to approve it. This demand is now being voiced primarily by those ministers who are most opposed to the agreement, but it also has come from some on whom Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu can count to ultimately support it. It is still not clear whether he will submit the agreement to the Knesset for approval. In another story, Defense Minister Mordechai met Monday night with leaders of the Hevron Jewish Community and other representatives of the Council of Jewish Settlements in Judea, Samaria and Gaza (Yesha), to discuss the impending withdrawal from Hevron. He said, "Nothing is yet final. Every time we are ready to sign, the Palestinians come with new demands." Daniella Weiss, head of the Regional Council of Kedumim, who participated in the meeting, told Arutz Sheva that Mordechai avoided giving real answers to the difficult questions that were raised concerning the security of the Jews there and the continued development of the Community. She also said that she views the strong demands being made by the Yesha leaders as something that strengthens the government, not weakens it. Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Force (IDF) has already begun intensive preparations for a withdrawal fromHevron. Most of the equipment in the Military Compound in the city has been removed, in anticipation of its being handed over to the PLO. Work on a liaison post near Beit Hadassah was begun Monday, where IDF and Palestinian officers will be stationed. Senior Israeli security officials met on Thursday with General Security Service (GSS - Shin Bet) officials to discuss the plans to incarcerate or limit the movements of "right-wing extremists" who the government feels will endanger or work to complicate the planned IDF redeployment from Hevron. According to Minister of Internal Security Kahalani, about 30 Jews will be placed under administrative arrest or house arrest in the very near future. Most of them will be taken to jails outside of the Hevron area. The arrests are being made to prevent violent reactions to the IDF redeployment from the area, according to government sources. This move comes despite objections made by the Prime Minister and some of his Ministers when they were in opposition during the time period of the former Labor-led government. At that time, Prime Ministers Rabin and Peres used administrative emergency laws to incarcerate any right-wing citizens who disagreed with government polices and the piece process. Noam Arnon, the Spokesman of the Hevron Jewish Community has asked why "left-wing extremists" such as those who attacked police during Saturday's violent demonstration in Hevron, are not placed under administrative detention. At least ten "right-wing extremists" are reported to have left their homes and gone into hiding. The persons involved, are residents of the Hevron area. Shomron News Service (SNS) has received information that members of its staff may be marked for administrative arrests. While it is hoped the information provided by sources close to PM Netanyahu is false, nevertheless they have decided to go on record. These laws remain on the Israeli Law books as "emergency laws" that were used during the British occupation of Israel. The law deprives a recipient of due process and a recipient may be placed in jail or under house arrest without even being charged with a crime. (VOA, Jerusalem Post, SNS, Yediot Achronot) JOINT PATROLS RESUMED: Joint patrols between the IDF and the Palestinian Police resumed on Tuesday in Jericho and Jenin according to a regular schedule, Ha'Aretz reported. The decision was made during consultations between IDF officers from the Central Command and Palestinian Police officers. There is a move to resume joint patrols according to the same arrangements that prevailed throughout Judea and Samaria cities of Palestinian self-rule prior to riots in the territories. The IDF opened Jenin and Jericho to Israelis and canceled the cities' status as closed military regions -- a directive which has remained in place since the riots. At the same time, the Palestinian Police opened Jericho's ancient Jewish synagogue to visitors. A Border Policeman, Guy Bosi, was discharged from his position after refusing to participate in joint Israeli-PA patrols in the Tulkarem area. Guy explained that following his seeing first hand violence and PLO troops shooting at Israeli soldiers in September, he no longer trusts them enough to be in a joint patrol with PA security troops. Several other Border Policemen were transferred to administrative duties after they too refused to participate in joint patrols. (Israel Line, SNS, Channel 2 Radio News) BUT THE RIOTS CONTINUE: A Palestinian demonstration turned violent on Sunday near the village of Kharbata, about halfway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. According to Palestinian sources, one Arab was killed and twelve injured. Hundreds of Arab demonstrators marched towards the Jewish town of Kiryat Sefer to protest against plans to build a new neighborhood there. They refused to stop upon approaching an Israeli checkpoint. Instead, mosque loudspeakers in adjacent Arab villages called on the crowd to go confront the soldiers. Demonstrators began stoning the soldiers. In efforts to disperse the crowd, soldiers shot into the air and fired rubberbullets, causing the casualties. There have been a number of similar demonstrations in the area recently, but none was as turbulent as Sunday's. The IDF Spokesman stated that an investigation into the violent Arab demonstration was within proper procedure regarding the actions of the IDF soldiers. The soldiers did not open fire at the advancing crowd until they were certain that their lives were in danger. (SNS, Kol Yisrael, Channel 2 TV News) ON THE NORTHERN FRONT: An explosion tore apart the car of a Hizb'Allah (Party of God) official in southern Lebanon on Saturday, but no one was injured. The group accused Israel of planting the bomb. The explosion occurred about eight miles south of Tyre. Hizb'Allah accused Israel of trying to assassinate the official. A South Lebanese Army (SLA) soldier was killed on Wednesday after Hizb'Allah guerrillas attacked his post in south Lebanon, SLA sources said. In Beirut, the pro-Iranian Hizb'Allah claimed responsibility for the assault. An SLA soldier was killed Wednesday morning by Hizb'Allah gunfire in the Eastern Sector of the Security Zone of southern Lebanon. On Tuesday, an SLA soldier was lightly injured when he was hit by Hizb'Allah gunfire in the Eastern sector of the Security Zone of southern Lebanon. The soldier was hit by a Sager missile. Three Israeli soldiers were injured Sunday morning in the Israeli- patrolled security zone in southern Lebanon when their tank was hit by a Sagger missile fired by Hizb'Allah. The soldiers were engaged in pursuit of the Hizb'Allah unit responsible for Saturday's (11-9-96) similar attack on another Israeli tank, in which one Israeli soldier was killed and three injured, one seriously. The IDF will investigate how it happened that Sagger missiles penetrated Israeli tanks two days in a row. According to some observers, Hizb'Allah will likely continue to intensify its activities against IDF and SLA troops in the Security Zone, especially now that the US elections are over. (Lebanon News Wire, AP, Channel 2 Radio News, SNS, Jerusalem Post) ECHOS OF WAR: Several weeks ago Egypt staged an unusual festival that purported to hail Cairo's efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East. The "Festival of Arab Honor" reached the homes of most Egyptians. Egyptian television showed reels of footage of Egyptian tanks and artillery pounding Israeli positions in the Sinai during the 1973 Yom Kippur war. Then came the "Peace Operetta," in which - in song and dance - Egypt was shown victorious against an unnamed foe located in the southern Levant. Two days later, Egyptian Coptic Pope Shenouda III told Egyptian journalists: "We must stand up to the Jews with adequate means. Condemnation is not enough. We must resort to force and unity." Israeli government and military experts watched the broadcasts as well. For them, it was yet another indication of something they had been increasingly concerned about for the past three months: The Arab world is beating the drums of war. "Some might argue that Syria would attack not to save the [peace] process but to destroy it, and bring with it the rest of the Arabs," Anthony Cordesman, who has served in senior positions in the Pentagon and NATO, says. "The Israeli position is not one that is safe against war. Instituting the Palestinian uprising would be a strategic disaster for Israel." "Remember that in the Yom Kippur war, the Syrian offensive was disguised as an exercise as well," a senior intelligence officer says. "And it wasn't done all at once. They kept us on alert several times until they gauged that they were ready and we weren't." MK Hanan Porat, a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, says Assad is now waiting to see how Israel responds to his military moves. (Jerusalem Post) EXPLOSION IN EAST JERUSALEM: Shortly after 8:00 am, Thursday morning (11-7-96), an explosive device went off near the entrance of the East Jerusalem Office of the Ministry of the Interior. The blast, described as small, was said to have been laid on a overhang to the main entrance of the building. Four persons, Arab pedestrians, including an infant, were injured in the explosion. Israeli security forces arrived at the scene and immediately began a search for additional explosive devices. No subsequent devices were found at the scene. No person or group has taken credit for the blast. Police are not ruling out the possibility that the bomb was placed by "right-wing Jewish extremists." Police added they believe either Arab or Jewish extremists are responsible for placing the bomb for "nationalistic" reasons or it may have been an attack with "criminal" motives behind it. The blast is believed to have been set to scare rather than harm or kill. The explosive device was placed inside a can of Coca Cola. (SNS, Galei Tzahal) US MARINES LAND IN ISRAEL: United States Marine troops are conducting exercises in an IDF base located in Southern Israel. The marines landed in Israel Monday. A Spokesman for the US government stated the training exercises were planned some time ago and not related to current political events in Israel. In another development, the US and Egypt are engaged in a large military exercise which will continue through November 17. The exercise, which includes 500 Americans, will practice various measures to protect the Gulf. As part of the exercise, 1,500 soldiers with their vehicles and equipment will be transported between two bases to test the ability to move forces quickly. (SNS, Channel 2 TV News, IMRA, Ha'Aretz) ARABS SEEK TO INCITE SETTLERS: The Voice of Palestine radio station is actively involved in incitement against the Jewish residents of Yesha. Despite denials by the director of the station, the incitement against Jewish Yesha residents continues. Arutz Sheva reporter Yoseph Mantinband listened to a Voice of Palestine broadcast in English, and recorded the following words: Commentator Simon Vee said, "The situation now is that the Netanyahu government continues blackmailing and deceiving on the one hand, and sets loose the settlers to commit murders and usurp more Palestinian land on the other ... Settlers are zealots who believe that killing Arabs is but a quencher to their bloodthirsty subhuman mentality ... Settlers have shown that their souls and their minds are but a mixture of a strange substance inferior to human integrity, a substance of human degradation that could not be identified or defined by humans except those who have little respect for themselves." The Palestine Radio Station was established under the auspices of the former Minister of Communications Shulamit Aloni (Meretz). The station was given antennas and a frequency which belonged to the Voice of Israel. Meanwhile, an article in Ma'ariv newspaper asserted that Israeli security officials were told by Palestinian sources that Arafat is encouraging riots and disturbances, and releasing dangerous Hamas members from prison. Journalist Nadav Haetzni writes that Fatah activists in Hevron received secret instructions from Arafat's bureau in Gaza last week to lead the city towards an explosion. The activists were instructed, according to the sources, to organize a broad front of violent riots, especially against the settlers, which would enable Arafat to claim that it is impossible to live with the Jews in Hevron, and that they must be removed from the city before the agreement is signed. (Arutz Sheva) AND THE TERRORISM CONTINUES . . .: A firebomb was thrown at an Egged Number 160 bus traveling from Jerusalem southbound towards Hevron on Monday (11-4-96). The attack took place near the Arab village of Arab. No injuries or damages were reported. Again, this past Wednesday, the Number 160 Bus was attacked by a firebomb near the Arab village of Arab. No damage or injuries were reported. Note: The bus is armor-plated against gunfire and has bulletproof glass. In another story, a senior figure in the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization, who was arrested in August by IDF soldiers when he attempted to pass through an IDF Gaza checkpoint, has been charged with "attempting to rebuild the Islamic Jihad in Gaza, while receiving assistance from person s in the Palestine Authority security forces." A known Hamas activist blew himself up Saturday in Kabatiya, a village near Jenin, apparently while preparing a bomb, the IDF said. Two suicide bombings, in Afula and Hadera in 1994, were planned from Kabatiya, where a militant Hamas cell is known to be working. Kabatiya is in Area B, which is under Israeli security control. "At about 11 am this [Saturday] morning, a huge explosion was heard in town," a Kabatiya resident said. "People from all over came to the site of the explosion in Asaf's yard on the outskirts of town, where his family found his body completely charred and blown to bits. The explosion even created a crater several dozen centimeters deep nearby." (SNS, The Voice in the Field News Service, Arutz Sheva) HAMAS FORMS NEW UMBRELLA GROUP: The Hamas terror organization has announced its intention to form an umbrella group of Arab groups opposed to the piece accords between Israel and the PA. The representatives of eight Arab organizations met Saturday night in Damascus to discuss a planned union of the Arab opposition proposed by Hamas, the group's Damascus representative, Abu Mohammad Mustapha, said. He said the coalition group would be called the "National Palestinian Independence Front." Send comments to Lee Underwood at: mbi@digital.net Archives located at: http://www.inet-images.com/fellowship/fyi.htm Note: The word "peace" is not misspelled in this document. When used in conjunction with the Middle East process, it is correctly spelled "piece"-ed. ============================================================== Lee Underwood mbi@digital.net "For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not keep quiet" Isaiah 62:1 ============================================================== ++++++++++++++++++ Rogue Plantet obiting Hale-Bopp? By Jon Roland jon.roland@the-spa.com Amateur astronomer Chuck Shramek of Houston, Texas, claims he has imaged an object accompanying Comet Hale-Bopp that appears to be about 3-4 times the size of Earth, and that the comet appears to be in orbit around it. His images and interpretation of them are found on his WWW site at http://paradise.pplnet.com/shram/comet.htm It will be interesting if other observers confirm this report, and if so, what the trajectory might be. The projected trajectory of the comet is not expected to get closer than about 90 million miles to Earth during 1997. However, the presence of a more massive object passing through the Solar System could have gravitational effects on the inner planets that should concern us. There could also be other accompanying objects that could cause trouble for us. The existence of rogue planets, that is, planets unbound to any star, but wandering through the galaxy, has been the subject of speculation for some time. They could account for much of the missing "dark matter" that has an observed gravitational effect on the dynamics of the galaxy but which neither emit or absorb light in ways that make it possible to detect them easily. Some comets are interstellar. That is, their orbits are hyperbolic, so that they are unbound to our sun, and will, after passing nearby once, leave the neighborhood of the sun and never return. It is possible that there may be very large nonluminous bodies out there, essentially comets, but as large or larger than planets, objects that never got large enough to ignite as stars. I have also speculated in past articles that a significant number of such rogue bodies could be rocky planets with hot cores, like that of Earth, cores heated by internal radioactivity and gravitational compression. Such planets could be suitable abodes for colonization, with the colonists living beneath the surface and drawing energy from the core. There is no need to have a star to warm the surface. The core could support a civilization in comfort for billions of years. If this object is such a planet suitable for colonization, it is too bad that it is approaching now, when we are unready to take advantage of it. In a decade or two wemight be ready to plant a colony on it, provide humanity a second home, and begin spreading throughout the galaxy, using such rogue planets as our starships. Of course, it is also possible that it has already been colonized by others who had the same idea before us. Could they be visiting us now as they prepare to pass nearby? Perhaps looking for new places to colonize? We need a mission to Hale-Bopp, preferable one that is manned, a mission equipped to land on Hale-Bopp or this companion object, take samples, and return. It could be the greatest opportunity of the millennium. --Jon -- ======================================================================= Constitution Society, 1731 Howe Av #370, Sacramento, CA 95825 916-450-7941 http://www.constitution.org/ mailto:jon.roland@the-spa.com ======================================================================= +++++++++++++++ Information Regarding Israels Security (IRIS) From: Leiah and Jason Elbaum The Washington Post reports (12 November, p. D1) that the American science fiction film Independence Day may be banned in Lebanon because scientist David Levinson, the Jeff Goldblum character who saves the planet, is Jewish. The Shiite Muslim group Hizbullah has denounced the film, now playing in Lebanon, calling it "propaganda for the so-called genius of the Jews and their concern for humanity." Even many upscale Christian moviegoers in East Beirut are upset that the film's heroes are a Jew and a black man, while some of the Christian white characters have less flattering roles. In the version playing in Lebanon, all of the scenes in which the Goldblum character or his father are shown to be Jewish were cut by Lebanese censors before it could be approved by the Interior Ministry's Public Security Department. Also censored were the few seconds in which Israeli troops and Arabs work side by side in the desert to fight the invading aliens. Ibrahim Musawi, Hizbullah's foreign press liaison in Beirut, said, "What do you think the Hezbollah would say about this film? We are making the connection that this film, playing in Lebanese cinemas, is polishing and presenting the Jews as a very humane people. You are releasing mistaken images about them." Hizbullah also mysteriously alleges that the film "hints that the source of danger to mankind emanates from certain parts of the Third World, particularly from the Arab and Islamic world." ==== Israel Radio reports (17 November) that an Israeli had his hand cut off by attackers, believed to be Arabs, in Jerusalem's Old City on Saturday. Vladimir Sukenik, of the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona, was undergoing surgery in a Jerusalem hospital. ==== The Sunday Times (London) reports (17 November) on comments by Israeli Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai in an interview with the newspaper, his first interview with a Western paper since taking office earlier this year. Responding to last week's comments by Syrian Defense Minister Mustafa Tlas, who warned that Syria is ready and capable of war with Israel, Mordechai said, "I am not going to threaten him as he threatens me. I will make peace and call on President [Hafez] Assad to come to the negotiating table. If they decide to go to war, they know we are ready and capable of hitting them badly." If Syria goes to war, he warned of a "devastating Israeli attack which could destroy [Assad's] regime." Russian scientists are helping Syria develop a lethal nerve gas, Mordechai said. Israeli intelligence has discovered that Syria can make and store chemical weapons. Among these is VX, which can kill within seconds if a minute quantity comes into contact with exposed skin. It can also penetrate light clothing and footwear and can remain in the atmosphere for days or weeks after being dispersed. Israel has no interest in discussing handing over the strategic Golan Heights to Syria, he said. "What for?" he asked. "Because the Syrians are keeping 4,000 battle tanks or because of their chemical weapons development? When things change we will be considering many options for peace with the Syrians." ==== Jason and Leiah Elbaum IRIS http://www.netaxs.com/people/iris ++++++++++++++++++++ The Rutherford Institute *** PRESS RELEASE *** For Immediate Release May 13, 1996 Press Contact: Kelly Shackelford 214-890-0360 FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT JUDGE TAKES AIM AT PARENT'S RIGHTS Houston - A federal district court judge has effectively ruled that parents lose their rights to direct the upbringing of their children when they put their children in public school. In granting summary judgment disposing of all claims against Katy Independent School District in Dawson v. Harris, the court ruled that the district did not violate parental rights by failing to inform the parents that the child was to be interrogated by state employees. Harris County Children's Protective Services, or CPS, was contacted by a school counselor to investigate passible child abuse after the Dawson's son reported that he had been paddled. CPS interviewed the boy without informing the parents. "Had CPS approached the Dawsons at home, they could have refused access," said Rutherford Institute affiliate attorney, Patrick Appel, who is handling the case. "They didn't give up their rights simply because they sent their children to mandated compulsory education." While Katy Independent School District is, for now, excused from the case, the Dawsons are continuing with the claims against CPS for its egregious conduct in the aftermath of the investigation of their son. "It is outrageous for a court to say that parents give up their rights when they drop their children off at public school," said Kelly Shackelford, southwestern regional coordinator for The Rutherford Institute. "This is especially oppressive to the many families who cannot afford private school and thus have their parental rights forcibly taken." The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization specializing in the defense of religious liberty. The Rutherford Institute P.O. Box 7482 Charlottesville, Virginia Phone: 804-978-3888 Fax: 804-978-1789 E-Mail: rutherford@fni.com NEWS RELEASE For Immediate Release Press Contact: Kelly Shackelford (214)890-0360 October 2, 1996 TEXAS OFFICIAL RETRACTS CLAIM THAT PARENTS HAVE NO RIGHT TO FAMILY RELATIONS Shocking Claim Came in Dispute Over Actions of Children's Protective Services Houston - James Hine, the head of the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services and top official for Children's Protective Services, has just retracted his former statement that "[parents] have no constitutional right to familial relations." The shocking quote had appeared in a motion asking a U.S. District Court for summary judgment in his favor against a Texas family. Hine's motion made the controversial statement in response to the parents' contention that CANRIS, a computer system used by CPS, restricts a constitutional right to family relationship. Hine's motion replied, "The interest of a parent in maintaining the stability and autonomy of the family unit has not been recognized... as a clearly established right for purposes of constitutional analysis." "This was nothing less than a direct attack on the rights of all parents in the state of Texas," said Kelly Shackelford, southwest regional coordinator for The Rutherford Institute. "Every parent should be up in arms." Hines updated pleading states that he did not contend that the constitution provides no protection to the integrity of the family unit, and his motion did not intend to imply such a stand. The case itself centers around the actions of CPS, which took custody of a Texas family's children and kept them for over tow months without obtaining a court order or granting the family due process. In a continuing legal education seminar in Houston this friday, The Rutherford Institute will discuss parents' rights as well as numerous other constitutional issues. "We're certainly pleased," said Shackelford, "that this specific attack against the rights of parents has been retracted. It is truly frightening; however, that such an argument could even be made by the highest CPS official in the state." The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization specializing in the defense of religious liberty. To subscribe to c-news, send the message SUBSCRIBE C-NEWS, or the message UNSUBSCRIBE C-NEWS to unsubscribe, to majordomo@world.std.com. Contact owner-c-news@world.std.com if you have questions. 1