PropheZine #44 July 1,1997 -------------------------------------------- This newsletter can be found in HTML format at http://www.prophezine.com/search/database/is44.0.html --------------------------------------------- Ray Gano.....................Welcome To Issue #44 Shirley Ann Miller... The Signs Begin with Virgo Michael Dustin Brimberry...How Close Are We to the Third Temple? Ron Graff...The New World Order and New Age Religion Ray Gano...Interview with Rudy Brinkman, founder of Bijbel Aktueel. PropheZine Newbytes PropheZine iNews Digest....CFR Guides Peace Process PropheZine iNews Digest ...EU Backs Palestinian State SNS News.............Practicing For The "Third Temple" The FRC...Sex Parties in The Barracks Okay, Says Congressman Center Policy Research...Vaccines Can Be Deadly, Group Says Center Policy Research ..Religious Freedom Blocked Center Policy Research ..Shall the U.S. Ban Single-Family Dwellings? Lee Underwood...........F.Y.I. - Israel in the News ***************************************** Welcome to PropheZine # 44 Hello all, This is a real good issue! I am very proud to introduce to you a new author to the PZ family Shirley Ann Miller. Shirley is the author of "Temperamysticism:" The Four Temperament Theory of the Sanguine, Choleric, Phlegmatic, and Melancholy personality systems associated with astrology. "A Sign in the Heavens: The Truth About Astrology" and "Will the Real Prophets Please Stand Up? Discerning the Voice of the Prophet" I am proud to have her give us a preview to her new book about the "prophecy in the stars." This is an area where I have experience as well and support Shirley's stance on this topic. I am also pleased to present a Red Heifer update from a good friend of mine, Dustin Brimberry. Dustin and I have known each other for a while now and he comes to California to visit me about every 3 months or so. We also attended the Florida conference with Todd Strandburg and Ken Wilson, which was a blast. All those of you in the Texas area, be advised, we might be putting on a PZ conference in Texas with Dustin's help. This is still in the pipe dream stage. More on this in future issues. A TON OF STUFF HAPPENING AT THE PZ WWW SITE!!! If you have not had the chance to, go check out the PZ WWW site. We have been getting about 300 hits a day. We are trying to post daily news from our growing reporting staff (REPORTERS, WE NEED YOU!!) The HOT new item at the PZ site, thanks to Bob Lally, my webmaster, is the PZ discussion board. We have a growing list of topics for you to take part in, including a Torah Code discussion area and our hot Open Forum area. This is a "safe" place to debate, thanks to our new staff member Ron Wallace, PZ Board Moderator. We are also getting ready to put up a Real Audio area. To take a sneak peak at this area, go to http://www.prophezine.com/realaudio. PZ is going to start taking questions from you readers and get people like Gary Kah, Scott Pearson, Berit Kjos, Grant Jeffrey, and others to answer them so that you can hear their answer in their own voice. Look for this link to go live here soon. ALSO! PropheZine will be hosting a three-day International Prophecy Conference on Sept. 19-21, 1997 in Alta Loma, CA (Southern CA). This will be held on Friday afternoon, all day Saturday and all day Sunday. Our Conference will be free to the general public. But we are offering approx 60+ VIP up-front and center seating ($30.00 in advance--now on sale). They'll go fast, so don't wait. For more information on this, call Ron Graff at (909) 989-3119 or send email to ray@prophezine.com. This is a first come, first served basis. Who Is Speaking: Dr. Tim LaHaye: He is a very well known author and speaker with his book, The Tribulation Force currently on the Christian Best Sellers list as #1 and Left Behind at #3. Tim has also written other great books dealing with Bible prophecy, including No Fear Of The Storm, an apologetics book on the Pre-Trib Rapture. Gary Kah is the best selling author of En Route To Global Occupation and The Demonic Roots of Globalism. Gary shows that the movement toward a one world government is nothing more than a policy of deceit and disaster-- especially for the Christian community. Berit Kjos is the author of Brave New Schools and Your Child in the New Age. She is a concerned parent and widely respected researcher, columnist, and conference speaker. She is considered the "expert" regarding the UN Global Education System and Goals 2000. David Hocking: David is the speaker for "Hope For Today" radio broadcast, heard on 34 stations plus satellite. He has authored more than 20 books, including "The Coming World Leader." He is the narrator and host of a CD-ROM multimedia product on the Book of Revelation which will be available this fall. He teaches weekly at Calvary Chapel of Santa Ana and in their Bible College at Murrieta Hot Springs. He will just be returning from his latest trip to Israel! Steven Wright is the author of Weather Modifications and UFO's and Superpowers in Prophecy plus several other books. He is also the host of "The Prophetic Perspective," a syndicated radio weekly call-in talk show on the Amerinet Broadcasting system. Ron Graff is the author of The Prophecy Puzzle book and computer program. He also the webmaster / publisher of PROPHECY CENTRAL, a monthly e-mail newsletter. His newsletter deals with Bible Prophecy on the Internet. Scott Pearson is an up-and-coming conference speaker. He has spoken for the last three years at the very well know prophecy conference held annually in Tampa, Florida, and hosted by Ray Brubaker of "God's News Behind The News" TV show. Scott is also a personal friend of mine, and is blessed with a gift for scripture memorization. He is known in the prophecy circles as the next Jack Van Impe. John Kinsella, author of The Eternal Generation, has contributed many excellent articles and television scripts for both Hal Lindsey's " World Intelligence Briefing" and Peter LaLonde's "This Week In Bible Prophecy." His extensive experience in the military and as a police detective prepared him to be one of the best researchers in the field. These speakers are all good friends of mine and I am very proud to invite them to my conference. If you attend, you will be greatly blessed. We are working on getting special hotel rates for our visitors from outside southern California. If you would like to attend and are coming from out of town, please contact me. We are debating on how many rooms to reserve. So far the response to the conference has been outstanding and we are expecting standing room only with this lineup of speakers. Keep an eye on the PropheZine site for more information. I urge you to try to attend. Ray Gano, PropheZine Senior Editor ***************************************** THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS, Part I The signs Begin with Virgo by Shirley Ann Miller (c) 1997 NOTE: It would be a great disservice to Biblical history and Christianity to attempt to detail the vast amount of information on this subject in a short article; therefore, this article will be the first in a series of articles on this subject. As the year 2,000 A.D. rapidly approaches ushering in the "new millennium," people everywhere cast their eyes upward in a hopeful, yet nervous, expectation that "something" is about to happen. We look for "signs" in the heavens that would make the unexplainable happenings within the universe appear to make sense. Strange or ominous occurrences in the dome of heaven bring heightened fears and the realization that something is about to happen upon this earth. Comets, stars, planets, and other phenomena take on a new and important meaning Other-worldly seers and psychics, with their heads in the clouds, predict a "new world order;" starry-eyed astrologers seek answers from the planets foretelling a planetary alignment which will usher in the "Age of Aquarius;" many others fear an impending visit from alien trespassers who seek world domination; a number of different religions prophesy a redeemer, a savior, who will deliver the people of earth from war and strife, ushering in an era of peace and safety; similarly, Christian theologians and scholars anticipate the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Prior to, and during, the new millennium, a vast array of prophets, seers, fortune-tellers, and psychics will emerge to reveal hidden insight into the mysterious realm of the unknown. With all of these confusing voices, how does one know the "true" from the "false?" One answer can be found in Deuteronomy 18:20, in the test of false prophets: But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously; thou shalt not be afraid of him. This certainly gives Christians notice up-front that a prophet will (1) speak "truth" and only the truths given by God through the Word of God, and (2) whatever the prophet has spoken from God "will undoubtedly come true." Christians today are faced with a confusing, vast array of "subtle truths" and "subtle errors." Sometimes, no matter how hard we try to avoid them, we find ourselves inundated with strange, unusual doctrines that appear relatively free from distortion, but somehow just don't meet with scriptural support. One of those doctrines that appear hard-to-define would be in the form of "the Gospel in the Stars message." Numerous books have been written on this subject by very well-known, credible, and genuinely sincere Christian authors; therefore, it is very important to scripturally separate the "doctrine" from the "author," which I will attempt to do. I have dealt with this subject in-depth in my book manuscript, "A Sign in the Heavens: The Truth About Astrology." If you haven't heard of the Gospel in the Stars message, it might be helpful to understand just what is this message. In brief, the Gospel in the Stars message is a commendable and valiant attempt to Christianize astrology, perhaps unintentionally intermixing new-age philosophies with Biblical interpretations. It is an attempt to separate astrology from astrology by removing the "idolatry" associated with it, but can this be accomplished? We may sanctify the names used in astrology by removing the mythology associated with it, but we cannot escape astrology's mythological origins evidenced in history. No complete record exists on the origins of astrology, but one can piece together ancient preserved documents, symbolism, and the fragmented cuneiform tablets that exist from thousands of years ago. The only real record in existence is in the oldest book known to mankind, the Bible; and the Bible's evidence becomes overwhelming, indicating that astrology is not God's originally intended purpose. Frances Rolleston, in her 1862 work, "Mazzaroth, or the Constellations," collected numerous references from several ancient astrologer/astronomers, compiling their notes and her research on the zodiac and constellations into one book. This is a well-researched and an excellent study tool in understanding and comprehending the current revival--one in which later authors give credit to her in their compositions on the Gospel in the Stars message. The Gospel in the Stars reinterprets the twelve signs of the zodiac, separating them from any association with astrology and re-associates the twelve signs with one Divine authorship. Rather than interpreting the zodiac as the byproduct of numerous divinities worshipped in ancient paganism, the Gospel in the Stars message purports that God originally created the twelve signs. Of course, God created everything, but much of God's original plans of creation have been misaligned, distorted, and redirected against His original purpose. For example, the constellations are a byproduct of ancient man's imagination handed down through fables from one generation to another over thousands of years. These imaginary configurations of stars, known as constellations, were merely observations of star patterns, symbolized, mapped, marked, and named because of their position and the way they appeared in the heavens. The planets and stars have been continuously studied from the beginning of man, symbolized in ancient drawings, translated from Babylonian, Akkadian, Chaldean, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Latin. The original purpose of the stars was for outward navigation, not inward direction; but nevertheless, the meanings and interpretations of these stars, patterned after real animals and humans, continually evolved into the mythical legends of gods and goddesses. The Gospel in the Stars philosophy begins with the sign Virgo and includes all twelve signs of the zodiac (see Rolleston, "Mazzaroth: or the Constellations," 1862); but keep in mind the zodiac the Greeks knew as "the circle of animals" is indeed in the form of a circle. A circle has no beginning or end, so how can the first sign of the Christian zodiac be Virgo? Keep in mind, it's not the circle that depicts a beginning in early astrology/astronomy, but the solstice and equinox points mark the seasons' beginnings and endings. For instance, the reinterpretation of the sign of Virgo came from Isaiah 8:14 and Matthew 1:23: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, And shall call his name Immanuel." [I will address this issue further in a later article on the "Magi."] The zodiacal planisphere in the Temple of Hathor, "the temple-house of the mistress of Denderah" in Egypt depicts the winter solstice in Pisces (not yet entering Aquarius) and the summer solstice in Virgo (not yet in Leo). This temple zodiac portrays the symbolic beginning of creation and the birth of man to be when the sun was in the sign of Virgo. This correlates with the summer solstice in Virgo during the time of the Great Pyramids. One might also observe this depicted in the mysteries of the Sphinx, named Bel-hit, "the lord who cometh." The story of the dying and rising divinity, born of the goddess, Isis. Hathor, the daughter of the sun-god, Re, gave birth to Horus depicted in the mother-child sign of Virgo in the Denderah zodiac. Medieval Christianity reinterpreted this to be Mary enthroned in the sign of Virgo, holding Jesus, who is seated on the "same throne." The Gospel in the Stars message, by emphasizing Virgo, the virgin, as the first of the twelve signs, places emphasis on the "woman" which is depicted similarly in pagan mother/goddess worship. Thus, it's not the "seed" of the "woman" that bruises the head of the serpent. The emphasis is placed on the "woman," thereby glorifying the woman rather than the "seed," representing Jesus Christ. Again, the sign (Isaiah 7:14) is not the virgin, but that the "...virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." All emphasis should, therefore, be placed on the child, Jesus Christ, "...For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given..." (Isaiah 9:6). A story evolved into a Persian legend of "mother/child" worship of the Magus Zoroaster, or Zeradust, who claimed to be the "sun of God, Jesus Christ." The Persian Zoroaster wrote in the Zend Avesta of the twelve-fold division of the zodiac into constellations and ascribed most of the names now in use (Rolleston, pg. 102). The "lord of the house" of Virgo is Mercury, and Mercury represents Hermes, "the scribe of truth" also known as "the thrice-great." Hermes can be traced to Egyptian (Hathor) following through the descendants of Ham (Egypt). Thoth or Hermes has been credited with the invention of "that peculiar study of the sky." Most likely, Horus (as the child of Isis a.k.a. Osiris, the Prince, the Ruler) is the representation depicted in the Temples of Denderah and Esneh as "the coming one" frequently depicted as the zodiacal bull and referred to many times throughout the Gospel in the Stars message (see Rolleston). The zodiac sign of Virgo in the Temple of Denderah pictures a woman carrying the branch, representing the sign of Virgo (Isis); below this picture is another symbol of a woman with an infant. In the planisphere of the Temple of Denderah, a star (Al-Murreddin, "he who is to descend") is depicted in place of the infant. Who is "to come?" The ancient depictions of the god who is "seated" in the heavens and dwelling among the gods? What one must discern here is the different between "who is to come?" Legends have been told, reinterpreted, reinvented, and passed down from one generation to the next. Perhaps we might find a slight reference to Jesus Christ, the Savior, "who is to come," but the reference to Him were not portrayed in the Temple of Denderah. This temple was dedicated to a multiplicity of gods/goddesses and not to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The symbolic representations most likely indicate the god of the spring equinox in Taurus sacrified to make way for the new god of the spring equinox, as the Lamb of Aries, to emerge. In Arabic, Virgo is called Sunbul, "ear of corn," (the star, SPICA) (in Sumerian called, "Siru"). Each goddess of Virgo carries "ears of corn" and/or a "sheaf of wheat," associated with the ancient civilization's symbol of the celebration of the "harvest" (the star Vindemiatrix, Latin word meaning the vine harvestress). Most importantly, each of the goddesses, in one way or another, can be connected to the Babylonian, Chaldean, Persian, Graeco-Roman-Egyptian constellation of Virgo. ------------------------------------------------------------- All questions, and/or comments are welcome, and will be addressed directly by e-mail: sammie@traveller.com, or in later articles. Contents of this article are excerpts from "A Sign in the Heavens: The Truth About Astrology," Shirley Ann Miller (c) 1995. Other books by Shirley Ann Miller include: "Temperamysticism:" The Four Temperament Theory of the Sanguine, Choleric, Phlegmatic, and Melancholy personality systems associated with astrology. "A Sign in the Heavens: The Truth About Astrology" "Will the Real Prophets Please Stand Up? Discerning the Voice of the Prophet" ***************************************** How Close Are We To the Third Temple? (part 1) By: Michael Dustin Brimberry Before we deal with the issue of the reinstitution of the sacrifice, let's take a look at two important sections of scripture that deal with the sacrifice of the red heifer. The first passage of scripture deals with the first red heifer to be sacrificed by Abraham. While the second passage deals with the instruction to Moses about the institution of this sacrifice. Genesis 15:8-10, " And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? 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. 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." Numbers 19:1-2, "And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, This [is] the ordinance of the law which the LORD hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein [is] no blemish, [and] upon which never came yoke:" So why all the excitement about the birth of the red heifer? Many are calling this the most profound event since the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. The Jews must have a red heifer before they can build a temple or restore the priesthood because the Levites and the Temple Mount are ritually unclean (The ashes of the red heifer are used to create the water of purification, which cleanses the priests and the temple mount). If this heifer remains unblemished and without spot, it will be ready for sacrifice anytime during its third year of life. So the real question that needs to be answered is; how old is the parah adumah (red heifer)? There is some debate about this issue, but the devout Jews have stated that at birth the red heifer was considered to be one year old. Since the heifer was born last year and was already considered to be one year old, this means that the heifer can be sacrificed in 1998. According to some Jewish sources the sacrifice could be performed just before Rosh Hashanah, during the month of Elul, or anytime during the year 5759 (1998-1999). During the week of March 23-29 the reading in synagogues all over the world was Numbers 19. This is interesting because this was the same week that the red heifer (Melody) passed her first halachic inspection. It definitely appears that God is performing yet another miracle for his chosen people; only time will tell if this heifer becomes the tenth red heifer to be sacrificed since Abraham sacrificed the very first one. So how do these events impact Christians? They remind us of the late hour in which we live, encourage us to get our affairs in order, and to win as many people to Christ as possible. In the next eighteen months we may witness the return of the Old Testament sacrificial system that so far we have only been able to read about. Just remember what Jesus said, "..when all these things begin to happen, then look up lift up your heads, for your redemption draws near!" Numbers 19:1-22, "And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, This [is] the ordinance of the law which the LORD hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein [is] no blemish, [and] upon which never came yoke: And ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, that he may bring her forth without the camp, and [one] shall slay her before his face: And Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle of her blood directly before the tabernacle of the congregation seven times: And [one] shall burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn: And the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast [it] into the midst of the burning of the heifer. Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the even. And he that burneth her shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the even. And a man [that is] clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay [them] up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation: it [is] a purification for sin. And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: and it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute for ever. He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days. He shall purify himself with it on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean: but if he purify not himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean. Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness [is] yet upon him. This [is] the law, when a man dieth in a tent: all that come into the tent, and all that [is] in the tent, shall be unclean seven days. And every open vessel, which hath no covering bound upon it, [is] unclean. And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days. And for an unclean [person] they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running water shall be put thereto in a vessel: And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip [it] in the water, and sprinkle [it] upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave: And the clean [person] shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even. But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the LORD: the water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him; he [is] unclean. And it shall be a perpetual statute unto them, that he that sprinkleth the water of separation shall wash his clothes; and he that toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean until even. And whatsoever the unclean [person] toucheth shall be unclean; and the soul that toucheth [it] shall be unclean until even." ***************************************** April 27, 1997 Introduction "The New World Order and New Age Religion." This will be a short course on prophecy, and a whirlwind tour of current events which may lead to the fulfillment of a future one-world government. The Biblical Scenario - Revelation 17:1-18 Before you read this chapter, let me give you a grid into which to place this, so you know where to view these events in future prophecy. These are some of the events which we believe are still future for us. First, there is the Rapture of the Church when Jesus Christ comes back and we who are true believers are caught up to meet Him in the air. Those who have died in Christ -will come out of their graves and will go up to be with the Lord also. >From the heavenly vantage point, then, we will be looking down on the earth during the next seven years. These seven years will be a time known as the Tribulation. During the Tribulation, Antichrist is going to rise to power, and there will be a one-world government, of which he will be the dictator. And in the middle of that Tribulation period, he is going to require everyone on the Earth, according to Revelation 13, to receive a mark on their right hand or forehead which will mean they acknowledge him not only as their dictator but as their god. Without that mark they will not be allowed to buy or sell anything for the remainder of the Tribulation period. And then, at the every end of that time, his world empire which he has built will began to crumble, and he is going to fight, literally, against Jesus Christ. He is going to call Christ down out of heaven. Jesus will come back at the Battle of Armageddon, and with His Word, is going to totally obliterate all of the forces of Antichrist and the Devil. We read about that in Revelation 19. Now we are studying Revelation 17. Chapters 17 and 18 go together to portray the destruction of the world empire of Antichrist. This is not the next thing on God's time table, but it is something we need to understand. Before this chapter can take place, a one-world government must emerge. We find here a beast, symbolizing one-world government, and we also find a woman riding on the beast who symbolizes religion that is not pleasing to God. 1A. MYSTERY BABYLON 1B. The Adulterous Woman - Revelation 17:1-6 The first part of this is about the adulterous woman- from verses one to six. Revelation 17 "1 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, 'Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters.'" Incidentally, verse 15 indicates that the waters on which the prostitute sits are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. So, whoever this woman is, she has come control over the people all over the earth. "2 With her the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries. "3 Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. "4 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. "5 This title was written on her forehead: MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. "6 I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished." Today, prophecy scholars believe that woman is apostate religion-- a one-world religion, put together by people who believe everything and anything except in personal salvation through the death of Jesus Christ. She is seen as an adulterous woman because in the Old Testament in many places Israel, as the wife of Jehovah, is pictured as an unfaithful wife because she has gone away from her faith in the Lord. In the New Testament the Church is seen as the Bride of Christ, and we are to be presented as pure and clean. You can see that if the picture is one of a love relationship between man and God, then those who turn from Him, who follow false teaching, and idolatry, and witchcraft and astrology, are seen as unfaithful to God, and their religion is seen as adulterous. This, then is a picture of world religion giving its power to Antichrist in the last days. The golden cup is a picture of communion with the world, a turning away from the truth. She is drunk with the blood of the saints. Throughout history we find that the church has persecuted true believers, and in the future it will be even more that way. An apostate church will persecute true believers. 2B. The Seven-Headed Beast - Revelation 17:7-18 The next part of this chapter speaks of the seven-headed beast. Beginning with verse 7 we read: "7 Then the angel said to me: "Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns. "8 The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction." This is a picture of Antichrist, the person. "The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet will come. "9 This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. "10 They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while. These seven kings, or kingdoms, can be seen as seven world empires. They are very reminiscent of three visions from the book of Daniel. In the second chapter of Daniel, for instance, there is a rather lengthy, graphic section. It is a dream that Nebuchadnezzar had. He saw an image of a huge statue with gold head, silver chest and arms, brass waist and thighs, and iron legs. The feet of this statue were partly of iron and partly of clay. While he watched the statue, there was a huge rock from heaven that landed on the feet, breaking the feet because of the clay, and causing the whole image to fall over and break into pieces. Then the rock that landed on the feet grew into a huge mountain. Now, Nebuchadnezzar did not have the first clue about what this dream meant, but it bothered him a lot. He called all of his magicians, and no one could interpret the dream, but God gave Daniel the proper interpretation. Daniel explained to Nebuchadnezzar that this was a picture of world kingdoms. He said that Nebuchadnezzar was the Golden head. After Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon, there would come another kingdom which was slightly inferior. He did not name it, but that would be the Medo-Persian Empire. Then there would be a third, which we know to be Greece, and after that, a fourth empire, the Roman. The final form of that Roman Empire, the feet, would be partly of the Roman Empire (the iron), and partly of something else (the clay) that was brittle. The rock from Heaven would be Messiah, whose kingdom would shatter all human kingdoms when He comes back as King of Kings. When you put all of this together, it is the same sort of picture except that, in Daniel, it starts with the third of the seven kingdoms, the Babylonian Empire. If we look back in history, we find that there were two kingdoms before Babylon: Egypt and Assyria. Then came Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece. Those were the five that had fallen. In the vision it says that one of the kings is-- meaning that it existed at that time. That would be Rome, the sixth head. The seventh head has not yet come. It will be beyond the Roman Empire, beyond the time of the vision which was given to John, and even beyond our time right now because since the Roman Empire there never has been another whole world empire. There have been many attempts to set up empires. Napoleon, Charlemagne, Adolph Hitler, and others have tried, but no one has ever succeeded in having a world empire from the time of the Roman Empire until now. But, according to the Bible, there will be a world empire during the end times that will be dominated by Antichrist. "11 The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction." Antichrist himself is an eighth king. " 12 'The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast." When you picture the seven-headed beast (I always see a sort of Brontosaurus with seven heads on seven long necks), think about the last head as having ten horns. In the Old Testament, horns always stand for power or authority. "13 They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. "14 They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings-- and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.'" Those of us who have gone up with Him in the Rapture, when He comes back at the end of these seven years as King of Kings to destroy Antichrist and his world empire, we are going to come back with Him. We don't have to fight according to Revelation 19. "15 Then the angel said to me, 'The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. "16 The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire." The prostitute on the beast is world religion. It gives its power to Antichrist in order for his world empire to become a reality. But he, being energized by Satan, does not love that world religion, but hates it and destroys it when he can. "17 For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until God's words are fulfilled. "18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the Earth." (NIV) Most Biblical commentators feel that this refers to Rome, which is symbolic of world religion because it has, from the time of Christ until now, had more religious sway over the kings of the earth than any other. This is not an attack against a denomination. But, at any given time, there are two camps among Christians. There are those who are true believers in Jesus Christ, who have placed their faith in Him and trust only in Him for salvation. But there is another camp, and always has been, who, although they call themselves Christians, are really relying on works, and because of their works, they focus on the wrong things. They begin to believe the same sort of things that modern Humanists believe, and trust in good works for their salvation. Because of that, they are not in a right relationship with God. Now, with this Biblical background, let's consider the woman and the seven-headed beast that is emerging around us even as we read the news from day to day. There is a movement toward a one-world religion, and a movement toward a one-world government that we want to consider. If you don't realize that the end, or the outcome of all of this, is good for believers, you could become very depressed about this information. It is not my purpose to distress you. You should not be upset or overwhelmed, but you should think about the outcome. (Please see the application at the bottom of this article.) These two issues: a coming one-world religion and a coming one-world government, are just two of at least twenty "pieces of the prophecy puzzle" that all point toward the soon coming of Jesus Christ for His church. We don't set dates. It could be many years in the future. But it could be today! We have more reason to believe this than any people who have ever lived before. 2A. Movement Toward a One-World Religion Nimrod's Babylon - Astrology, Occult, Idolatry It goes all the way back to the story of Nimrod and Babylon. After the Flood of Noah's days, Nimrod was "a mighty hunter before the Lord," and he established the city of Babylon and also the city of Nineveh, which later became the capital of Assyria. He was against God. He introduced astrology, witchcraft, idolatry, and many other evil inventions. It can be shown that all of the religions of the ancient empires were built on the same corruption originated by Nimrod. Religion of The Ancient Empires - new forms If you consider these empires, from Egypt, to Assyria, to Babylon, and so on, you see that all of them had the same basic panoply of gods, but they kept changing their form a little bit, giving their deities different names. In every case, they were worshipping the creature instead of the Creator. This can all be traced back to Babylon. Satan's Throne at Pergamum According to Revelation, chapter 2, Satan's throne was established in the city of Pergamum because the city of Babylon had been crushed, and the "Pontifex Maximus" had moved to Pergamum. Pontifex Maximus in Rome In the time of Julius Caeasr, the title of Pontifex Maximus (high priest of the ancient pagan religion) was transferred from Pergamum to Rome, and to Caesar himself. National and World Council of Churches These councils have been rejected by most of the evangelical churches because their idea is to so water down Christian theology that people do not need to accept the Bible literally in order to be a part of it. We believe that the primary purpose of the church is to help people become true believers in the saving work of Christ, so we can not be a part of that. Because of that, there are other ecumenical movements that are just ignoring the World Council. New Age Religion Many of these would come under the heading of "New Age" religion. You can't watch television at night without seeing endless advertisements for psychic counselors and other occultic practices. This is not just a joke. There are millions of people who believe today in these concepts. There is not one great New Age Church but there are thousands of splinter groups, all organized by the Devil to fill that God-shaped vacuum in man's heart, and to do it in such a way that they don't have to believe in a personal relationship in Jesus Christ. The things they have in common are belief in channeling, where they receive messages from extraterrestrials, belief in astrology, nature worship, pantheism, Gaia worship (Mother Earth), and many others. Some other forms of this New Age trend include Transcendental Meditation, a modern adaptation of ancient Hindu practices, Silva Mind Control, Yoga, and the Bahai religion which teaches that many roads lead to the same truth. United Religions - modeled after UN- target 2000 This is a brand new movement, which plans to sign a charter for all religions in the year 2000. They say: " We, people of faith, called by our respective traditions to compassion in response to the suffering of humanity and the crises which endanger our planet, wish to create a permanent forum where the world's religions and spiritual movements will gather daily to engage in prayerful dialogue to make peace among religions, leading to cooperative action for the sake of all. "We respect the uniqueness of each religion and faith tradition, value every voice, and believe that our shared values can lead to cooperative action for the good of all. We acknowledge that our religious life has often divided us and been used to justify shedding blood rather than building community. "We affirm that, in spite of apparent differences of practice or belief, our faiths call us to care for one another. We believe that the wisdom of our religious and spiritual traditions must be shared for the sake of all. Therefore, as communities of faith and interdependent people rooted in our faith, we now unite for the sake of peace and healing among religions, peoples and nations, and for the wholeness of the earth." (http://www.united-religions.org/decla.html) They scheduled June 23 of this year to host a convention at Stanford University for delegates from 100 religions to craft the beginning of a charter for this United Religions, which will be patterned after the United Nations, and then on June 26 of the year 2000, the United Religions charter will be signed while a walking pilgrimage for peace will take place through villages, towns and cities throughout the world. There are literally millions of people ready to respond to this type of one-world religion. Many historians are already referring to our age as a post-Christian era. Age of Aquarius The Age of Aquarius was brought to our attention during the revolutionary time of the '60's. They say we have been in the age of Pices, the Fish (symbol of Christianity), but are now moving into the post-Christian age. Those who subscribe to this philosophy will be like the adulterous woman riding on the beast. 3A. Movement Toward a One-World Government The Ancient Empires/ Secret Societies/ Gnostics/ Knights Templar/ Rosecrucians/ Illuminati This Satanic plan goes back to the ancient governments and secret societies, including the Illuminati. In the media, those who believe in these things are accused of being wild-eyed wackos. There certainly has been a conspiracy among the rich and powerful behind the scenes, but even if we discounted all of that and started with the events of our own century, you will see that there is what Dr. D.L. Cuddy calls an "Open Conspiracy." (A Chronological History of the New World Order by D.L. Cuddy, Ph.D., Arranged and Edited by John Loeffler - On the Koinonia House website at http://www.khouse.org/nwo_cuddy.html) The "Open Conspiracy" Cuddy did not invent the concept of the "Open Conspiracy." This is something that H.G. Wells wrote about in the year 1928. H.G. Wells books that were preparatory for a global government. One of them was entitled, "The Open Conspiracy: Blueprints For A World Revolution." He said in that book that the open conspiracy is the natural inheritor of socialist and communist enthusiasms. He said that it would be plainly displayed, and that it will be a world religion. (Cuddy, ibid.) Here are just a few of the developments of our time that relate to this movement. The Federal Reserve System - 1913 This was a transfer of the power to create money from the federal government to a private corporation. This private corporation is owned by shareholders, and of the top eight shareholders, four of them are banking houses in Europe. These are the people who literally control our economy, and it is not even a part of our government. The Council on Foreign Relations - 1919 This group was dedicated to the cause of bringing about a New World Order, but it was so secretive at first that very few people knew anything about them, and in the sixties and seventies, when some of the conservative groups began to expose them, they branched out into other organizations as well. The League of Nations - 1920 This project, which came on the heels of World War I, was a failure. The United Nations - 1945 The United Nations was formed after World War II. It also seemed to be a failure until more recent times when it has gained great strength. Most of us are not happy with the type of things it is doing. It aspires to bring about a global government in our world. The Bilderbergers - 1954 This group began in Europe to accomplish the same sort of things as the Council on Foreign Relations in the United States. The European Union - 1956 Europe's "Common Market" has unified Europe in preparation of this one-world government which is about to be forced upon us. World Constitution and Parliament Assoc.- 1959 A group of educators decided that they should write a federal type constitution for all member states of the whole earth. This was not a joke. It has been promoted ever since, and today there are literally millions of people who have signed agreement to this concept, and only time will tell if this is the instrument that will actually bring about a new whole-world government. (http://www.cruzio.com/~tim/wcpa/index.html) Do you ever hear any of this on the news? No. It is hidden from us, but it is very real. The Club of Rome - 1968 This was meant to be a controlling organization for many of these semi-secret organizations. They have devised a plan for dividing the whole Earth up into ten regions or "kingdoms," as they call them. This fits very nicely the vision of the ten horns. The Environmental Protection Agency - 1970 This has served as a prototype of world protection agencies which are causing us great grief today. The Trilateral Commission - 1973 This is a union of rich and powerful leaders from the United States, Europe and Japan, in order to bring about a one-world government. The Humanist Manifesto II - 1973 This document was also blatantly in favor of a one-world government, and its philosophy has helped condition all of us to think that such a structure wouldn't be so bad because we have serious ecological problems, political problems, and other needs that can only be answered by a united world. The Dissolution of the Soviet Union - 1990 In 1931 the Soviets were being trained that in about 30 years there would be a great theatrical display of peace that would cause the gullible nations of the free world to trust them. I believe the collapse of the communist coalition was all orchestrated. Gorbachev played the part of one who was kidnapped, standing against old Communism, so that the world would not worry about it any longer, and therefore be open to a one-world government. The Gulf War - 1991 The Gulf War is when we first began to hear from Gorbachev, and especially from President Bush about a "new world order." The concept of a one-world government was something most people had not heard much about before. The expression had been used for quite some time by the Council on Foreign Relations and others of their elite circles to describe their objectives. But with the Gulf War, President Bush began to express openly that this new world order was emerging. On September 11, 1991, President Bush said, "The crisis in the Persian Gulf offers a rare opportunity to move toward an historic period of cooperation. Out of these troubled times, a new world order can emerge in which the nations of the world, east and west, north and south can prosper and live in harmony. Today the world is struggling to beborn." On September 25, 1990, in an address to the United Nations, Soviet Foreign Minister, Edward Shevardnaze described Iraq's invasion of Kuwait as an act of terrorism. On December 31, Gorbachev himself declared that the new world order would be ushered in by the Gulf crisis. During his State of the Union Message, a month later, in January of 1991, President Bush said, "What is at stake is more than one small country. It is a big idea: a new world order, to achieve the universal aspirations of mankind, based on shared principles and the rule of law: the illumination of a thousand points of light. The winds of change are with us now." (Cuddy, ibid.) UN Conference on Environment and Development - 1992 In 1992 an environmental Earth Summit took place in Rio de Janeiro. It was called the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. This was billed as the "mother of all summits," and it had up to 40,000 government officials and environmentalists from 167 countries in attendance. It was the biggest gathering of world leaders ever held. Time Magazine said that it was a New-Age Carnival. The summit was attended by The Dali Lamma of Tibet, thousands of new agers and occultists, including John Denver and Shirley McClain, numerous leftist groups, and virtually every environmental group in the world. 7,892 non-governmental organizations were also included from the 167 countries. The results of this conference were the Biodiversity Treaty and Agenda 21, which are issues we need to keep our eyes on in these days. State of The World Forum - "Global Governance" - 1995, 1996 In 1995, and again in 1996, Mikhail Gorbachev, from his new headquarters in San Francisco, called for a State of the World Forum. This forum was attended by many high ranking people from all over the world, including our own country. The issues had to do with global governance, which is, by the way, the new expression for the new world order, since there is a bad taste for that expression now. COSCO - Chinese "base" in Long Beach - 1997 Recently we were all surprised when we heard that the Chinese were given a lease to a former military base in Long Beach. This has been decried by many conservatives in our country as allowing the enemy of civil rights and of human dignity-- China, of course, being the worst perpetrator of crimes against humanity in the world today-- to have a commercial base right here in our back yard. National Sovereignty Act - Failed - 1997 I mentioned the Biodiversity Treaty that came out of the Earth Summit in 1982. Subsequent to that, 48 of the national parks of the United States have been turned over to the United Nations. If you drive, for instance, into the Death Valley area, you will see a sign that says "Welcome to Death Valley International Biosphere." This alerts visitors that this area has come under the control of The United Nations Advisory Board. This is true not only here in the United States but in many places around the world where they have taken over key places of environmental or historical importance. In Congress this year, there was a bill introduced to try to regain sovereignty over our own national parks, and, believe it or not, it did not have enough support in Congress to pass. It would have required a two thirds vote to overturn the existing agreements. That means that there were more than one third of our elected congressmen who were willing to go along with the United Nations agenda to control our national parks, and the other things that this will lead to in the future. We don't hear about these things in the media, but there is something new every week or two that cause us to conform to the New World Order. (http://www.Bible-prophecy.com/nwo.htm#Current) Ongoing issues: Here are some of the things to be watching in the near future: Goals 2000- Outcome Based Education Many of you have already been involved in standing against this in recent days. It will keep trying to push itself to the front in educational circles Education Reform-- Schools "partial hospital status" According to Phyllis Schaffley, the goal of this educational reform is to remold the entire American school system into a seamless web that literally extends from the cradle to the grave. She points out that, thanks to a loophole in the law back in 1989, schools can obtain a "partial hospital status" and receive a steady flow of Medicaid funds to support their programs. Through such schools, and under the guise of preparing children for the 21st Century, the government can control the delivery of health care to millions of children." If the past is a guide to the future, this will result in the schools giving more condoms to children, and providing services without the consent of the parents. Trade Treaties - e.g., NAFTA, GATT Many of the treaties that are being enacted have the effect of trading away our sovereignty in the interest of global governance. In 1993, Henry Kissinger wrote this about NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) in the Los Angeles Times, "What Congress will have before it is not a conventional trade agreement, but the architecture of a new international system, a first step toward a new world order." Arms Reduction Treaties - START II (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty)-1996 This treaty banned all land-based nuclear weapons with nuclear warheads. This sounds good, but its effect is to tie our hands, militarily, while it allows other countries which do not keep treaties, like Russia and Third World countries which are not a part of the treaties at all, to go ahead with their military development. This is a very bad thing as far as the United States is concerned because it leaves us militarily impotent to stand against the terror that other countries might pose. Chemical Weapons Conventions (Treaty) April 24, 1997 This treaty was recently ratified by Congress to do the same thing with chemical weapons. We don't want to use chemical weapons, but the greatest deterrent against those who have them and use them is the fact that we can retaliate in kind but now we won't be able to do so. So you see that the trend is to tie our hands militarily, so that we are not able to do much as a nation, and thus make the United Nations the only one that can enforce the law. The sad thing about that is that, under the banner of the United Nations, our own troops are already being sent as some sort of police goon squads to faraway parts of the world, where we are "keeping the peace," not in the name of freedom, but in the name of the United Nations. Most of us are not in favor of this use of our military as a world police force for the United Nations. Agenda 21 This was adopted by the World Ecology Conference in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The introduction to Agenda 21 says, "In order to meet the challenges of environmental and development, states decided to establish a new global partnership. This partnership commits all states to engage in a continuous and constructive dialogue inspired by the need to achieve a more efficient and equitable world economy." What they have in mind is a redistribution of wealth and a cutting down of population so that the world will be able to get along easier in the future. (http://web.icppgr.fao.org/LIBRARY/A21/contents.html) Re-wilding and other Environmental Issues Maps have already been drawn that show whole states and as much as 50% of the country being destined to be returned to wilderness state, which means that, in some parts of it, human beings would not be allowed to go in. (New Age Conservation Plans for U.S., Karen McDaniel on The Trump of Maranatha site - http://www.prophezine.com/alliance/mara/text/consrv.html) Militia movements, Radio talk shows We all know these are existent in most of the states. They are, for the most part, against the federal government. We may sympathize with some of the issues about which they are concerned, but the danger here is that these people can pose a threat to the federal government, and the government could then use this to declare a national emergency at the time of their choosing. In other words, by pushing these militias a little bit, they can force them to do things which would escalate to a national emergency. You may wonder what this would matter. The problem here is in the broad powers granted to the President by executive orders which were adopted after World War II. Presidential Executive Orders With these executive orders, which the President can invoke on his own, he would have greater dictatorial power than Adolph Hitler or Joseph Stalin had at the beginnings of their reigns. These executive orders are a matter of public record. Let me give you some of them: #10995: Seizure of all print and electronic communications media in the United States. #10997: Seizure of all electric power, fuels, and minerals, public and private. #10998: Seizure of food supplies and resources, public and private, including farms and equipment. #10999: Seizure of all means of transportation, including cars, trucks or any other vehicles, including control over highways, harbors, and waterways. #11000: Seizure of all American people for work forces under federal supervision; it allows the government to split up families if they believe it is necessary. #11001: Seizure of all health, education and welfare facilities, public and private. #11002: Registration by the Postmaster General of all men, women, and children for government service. #11003: Seizure of all airports and aircraft. #11004: Seizure of all housing and finance authorities; authority to establish forced relocation and to designate areas that must be abandoned as "unsafe." Establishment of new locations for population groups, building of new housing on public land. #11005: Seizure of all railroads, inland waterways, and storage warehouses, public and private. #11051: Authorize the Office of Emergency Planning to put the above order into effect in times of increased international tension or financial crisis. (http://www.sirinet.net/~cloefke/eorders.htm) This answers the question, "Why would the United States ever get involved in a one-world government? How would we ever make that plunge, because the people don't want it. We like the way our country was founded. We like what it stood for. We like our independence; we're a freedom loving people. We die for our liberties here, so, what would cause us to become a part of this one world order? Simply stated, it would have to be some sort of radical change in the government. It could possibly be precipitated either by an environmental crisis (real or imagined), or by something like this militia movement, or some other national emergency where a state of emergency could be declared. Then, by the time everything got sorted out, we would have become a part of some new world government. We don't know how it will turn out, but we do know that there is movement in this direction. Isn't it interesting that it has been prophesied that there will be a one-world government, and we can see these things beginning to come to pass. Application Knowing the truth What can we do about it? We are not discouraged about what we see. We may be discouraged about the government, or something in the church, but we are not discouraged about our own personal destiny, because we have read the end of the Bible, and we know that we come out victorious. Jesus Christ has already given us victory. We are overcomers. We have a secure future with Him in heaven if we have placed our faith in Jesus Christ. So no matter what happens in the world, we are on the winning side, and we are going to end up with Him. Not only that, but He has given us promises of deliverance from the wrath that is to come if we are true believers in Him. What this should do for us as Christians, is to drive us to prayer and to sharing our faith with other people. It should not cause us to throw up our hands in despair and say, "There is nothing we can do." Prayer - especially national repentance, revival When we pray, we should pray for national repentance. Let us pray that the Lord will receive our humble repentance and restore our land. Instead of being discouraged, let us pray for revival, because revival will turn all this around. And even though judgment is inevitable, it can be put off for a time like it was for Nineveh when Jonah went there. The people who turned to God had a revival, and for a while there was renewal for their land. The same thing can happen for the United States if we will be faithful. It will prolong, but it won't put off the inevitable, that there will eventually be a one-world religion and a one-world government. "Redeem the time" - Share the Gospel - Ephesians 5:16 Those of us who believe in prophecy should be highly motivated to share the Gospel with everyone we possibly can. These are the days when many people's hearts are tender because they are concerned about what is going on, and we should be reaching out to them with the Gospel, and trying to win them while there is still time. "Look up, for your redemption draws near!" - Luke 21:28 Praise God, we Christians have nothing to fear because Jesus Christ is coming back as the victor. He is coming a King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and as we see some of these things developing which could be the fulfillment of last days prophecy, we are not afraid because we belong to Him. If you have never received Christ as your own personal savior, be sure to settle that issue now! Jesus said, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him." (Revelation 3:20) You can receive Him as savior by prayer right now. Won't you do that? Ask Him to save you from your sin and enter your life. Then, when He comes back for His believers, you will be caught up to meet Him in the air. Copyright (c) 1997 by Ron Graff. All rights reserved. ***************************************** Internet interview with Rudy Brinkman founder of Bijbel Aktueel. By Ray Gano I am pleased to present this interview with Rudy Brinkman, founder of Bijbel Aktueel. Bijbel Aktueel is a Christian ministry that is in headquarted in Holland and takes the gospel to the Dutch and surrounding countries. Rudy and I have known each other for quite a while and he has kept me abreast of what is going on in Holland. I enjoyed this interview because Rudy gives us a different perspective than what we normally see here in the Americas. I hope to bring more such interviews from other parts of the world. ~~~~~~~~ PZ: Hello Rudy and thank you for taking this time to share with the PZ readers. RB: No problem, thank you. PZ: In your opinion now that John Major is no longer PM of England, what is going on with the EU? RB The new PM seems to follow the same line as Major did. At the last conference in Amsterdam, perhaps you've heard about it and the "treaty of Amsterdam"? - he wasn't really difficult according the press (I've forgotten his name). There were more problems with Jospin of France. PZ: How is this effecting Holland? RB: Not at all. England has hardly any influence on Holland. Germany is much more important for us. PZ: What are some of your opinions in regards to the EU? RB: Hard to say at the moment. There isn't much news "leaking" to the press nor the public. It is very clear that the EU is growing, more countries want to be in it. The "Euro" (Euro currency, or "euro dollar" as you call it) is scheduled for the year 2000. You can imagine that the costs for the banks and company's are enormous. The software firms "jump for joy," of course... ;-) Germany is in serious trouble, I think. It cannot - at this moment - guarantee that their economic position will be good enough to meet the standards. IMO this will be the reason that their have to be enormous cutbacks in the government administration and people have to 'suffer' because of the fact the salaries have to go down - or at least be frozen. In Holland we've had that all before. And now the economy is slowly growing here. Our PM, Mister Wim Kok, has been at the G7 and Bill Clinton praised him for the way Holland 'runs' their economy... But: the dark side is: there are lots of unemployed in Holland. The official figure is about 400,000 unemployed, but there is a lot of "hidden unemployement" at the moment. Unofficially we have more than 1 million (!) unemployed people. So - it ain't so good after all !! I don't know if this is interesting, but the president of the Dutch Bank, Mr. Duisenberg, held responsible for at least a part of the "economic revival" of Holland, has recently accepted the position as president of the European Bank. PZ: Is there any news of going on in Holland in regards to the central currency (EU Dollar)? RB: No, the only real "news" is the above: What is going on with Germany. PZ: Have you seen the EU dollar? RB: Only the design for the coin version, but that is all. PZ: We are not getting much news as to what is really happening in EU. It seems to be pretty hush hush at the moment. Any opinion why this might be so? RB: Here is some interesting news, The Treaty of Amsterdam. The Treaty itself wasn't really spectacular. It's a bundle of old agreements and - as a experts said - "no one understands what it's about." What was worse was the fact that people holding a demonstration against the EU were arrested and thrown in jail for a few days, to get them "off the street." I believe there were more than 300 people arrested. Some of them were not allowed to call their lawyer, take a shower, etc. They were arrested and treated the way South American regimes (like Chile) do, according to a Danish journalist who was arrested too. They were arrested on a law against people "being members of a criminal organization". The first three people were released after one day. The judge decided this law was abused for this purpose. The others have also all been released by now. PZ: Thanks again, Rudy, for sharing some of your personal insights with the PZ readers. RB: I hope they enjoy this also. I would like to share with your readers some information about Bijbel Aktueel. ABOUT BIJBEL AKTUEEL: Bijbel Aktueel is a group of reborn Christians, who have as their main goal to spreading the Gospel of Christ, via our BBS and the Internet. We also publish a (printed) newsletter, for friends of Bijbel Aktueel. There are also two Bible-study groups and a few times a year we invite Bible-teachers for a (public) lecture. We publish Bible-studies, brochures and software, all free available via our BBS and (as much as possible) the web-sites. The BBS has recently taken over the Bible study files and software of "Across the Bible," one of the oldest BBS-systems in Holland (AtB started in '89 and closed down in May '97). The Bijbel Aktueel BBS is also the Headquarters (Hq) and co-founder of Christian Multi-Net (CMNet), a fido-style, Christian, BBS Network in Holland. Our BBS can be reached at the following phone-number: +31 (0)594-505612, 24 hours a day, ANSI-emulation. Homepage: http://www.BijbelAktueel.base.org (or: http://www.nedernet.nl/~dtbrink/aktueel) Check out Rudy's site and if you live in Europe, log on to their BBS. Good luck Rudy, and thanks for all your help with PZ. EDITOR'S NOTE: Because of Rudy and Bijbel Aktueel, PZ is reaching Europe and primarily Holland. So much so that Holland is our #4 country in regards to PZ readers. Here is our breakdown as to counties where PZ is being read... 1. US 2. Australia/New Zealand 3. Canada 4. Holland 5. Japan / Pacific Rim 6. African nations/ South Africa 7. Europe 8. Middle East ***************************************** PropheZine News Bytes CFR Guides Peace Process From: PropheZine iNews Digest http://www.prophezine.com/inews The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) says the current peace process, based on the 1993 Oslo Accords, is on the verge of collapse. The group, in a recently released report, recommends abandoning the incremental approach of the Oslo agreement. The report suggests any new approach to the peace process should include recognition of Palestinian statehood in most of Judea, Samaria and Gaza in exchange for increased security guarantees for Israel. (VOA) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ EU Backs Palestinian State From: PropheZine iNews Digest http://www.prophezine.com/inews Israel must not rule out the eventual creation of a Palestinian state, European Union (EU) leaders said Wednesday. French Foreign Ministry spokesman Jacques Rummelhardt said the EU declaration was an attempt to ease tensions. Israel's Foreign Ministry has slammed the EU for "preempting the outcome of the final status talks." Meanwhile, the EU's special envoy, Miguel Moratinos, said Friday he will soon present proposals to revive stalled negotiations between Arabs and Israelis. The 15 EU leaders also called on Syria and Lebanon to keep peace efforts alive or risk "a permanent threat to the security of all.'" (AP, ICEJ) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ PRACTICING FOR THE "THIRD TEMPLE" From: SNS News - 6/20/97 Yehuda Etzion, who was convicted of being connected to a plan to bomb the Temple Mount mosques in 1985, is organizing "training" in sacrificial slaughter towards the construction of the Third Temple. Etzion and members of his group slaughtered a lamb this week, sectioned it, and burned it in the presence of hundreds of onlookers in the Carmi Tzur settlement located in the Hebron hills. The three-hour-long ceremony was filmed by a television crew from the CTV, an independent Canadian network, as part of an item on the spread of messianic tendencies in Israel. In an interview with CTV reporter in Israel, Dinah Louis, Etzion stated "The mosque is the wrong structure in the wrong place." Etzion claimed further that "there is a mass movement gathering momentum of Jews who are returning to the Temple Mount - in order to be there, to pray there, and also - as we believe - in order to offer sacrifices to the God of Israel." The sacrifice this week was the second in Etzion's "training" series. The first sacrifice took place on Passover eve in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Abu Tor. {HAARETZ 6/20 C} +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ SEX PARTIES IN THE BARRACKS OKAY, SAYS CONGRESSMAN From: The Family Research Council http://www.frc.org WASHINGTON, D.C.-- Yesterday, openly gay Congressman Barney Frank offered a Defense bill that declares that the Pentagon's prevailing moral views are wrong. If passed, the legislation would do away with the military's adultery law, eliminate all legal obstacles to adult consensual sex and make homosexual behavior legal. "What Frank couldn't get during the 1993 gay debate he now wants to get behind the smoke screen of military sex scandals," says FRC's retired Lieutenant Colonel Robert Maginnis, the director for the Military Readiness Project. "Frank calls this the 'Anti-Hypocrisy Act,' but he's the one being hypocritical. It's obvious where Frank wants this bill to go. He wants homosexuals to be able to openly serve and engage in now-illicit sex. "Frank's bill was predictable," says Maginnis. "Last week, leading homosexual activists were welcomed at the Pentagon by Clinton appointee Fred Pang, Assistant Secretary of Defense. No doubt, the high-level meeting dealt with advancing the homosexual agenda and Frank's bill is part of their strategy. "Frank's law would severely limit commanders from halting sex parties in the barracks. As long as soldiers are consenting, anything goes. This would make Tailhook normative," said Maginnis. The proposal would legalize most sexual behaviors including adultery. But adultery can have serious negative effects on morale, discipline and unit cohesion. Current law seeks to vaccinate fragile military families against broken commitments, domestic violence, and long-term problems for children. Most military people are married, a fact that has been proven to be key to readiness. That's why 858 soldiers have recently been courtmartialed for adultery. The law's crystal clarity keeps wandering eyes focused on the mission. The colonel said, "A military without constraints on sexual conduct is doomed to failure. Mr. Frank's bill turns military law on its head. It denies commanders the discretion to fit the punishment to the crime, but in many instances consensual sexual relationships have been shown to seriously damage readiness. "We must be careful," says Maginnis. "What we get in our military is what we ask for. Do we really want a fighting force marked by free sex and shredded discipline? No!" FOR MORE INFORMATION OR INTERVIEWS, CONTACT FRC'S PRESS OFFICE. CONTACT: Kristin Hansen (202) 393-2100 FOR RADIO: Rebecca Biles If you have any questions or comments about this press release or about the Family Research Council, please visit our web site at: http://www.frc.org +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Vaccines Can Be Deadly, Group Says From: The National Center for Public Policy Research Web: http://www.nationalcenter.inter.net Barbara Loe Fisher of the National Vaccine Information Center, founded in 1982, discussed her organization's efforts to prevent vaccine injuries and death through education. Fisher began by telling the story of how her own son, at age 2 1/2, lapsed into a coma after receiving a vaccine, and now suffers from learning disabilities as a result of the incident. Fisher says that kids now typically receive 34 doses of vaccines and that vaccines are "sacred cows," yet after her organization pushed for a law requiring doctors to report vaccination-related injuries and deaths, over 14,000 such cases have been reported annually. These cases of injuries and deaths, include cases of parents being forced to vaccinate kids with the same vaccine that killed one or more of their siblings. She called for "informed consent" provisions to give parents ultimate authority over which vaccines their kids receive. Fisher also discussed President Clinton's desire for a national AIDS vaccine. Fisher distributed information about her organization, including a "Consumer's Guide to Childhood Vaccines," and news articles, including a lengthy December 1996 Money magazine article, "The Lethal Dangers of the Billion-Dollar Vaccine Business." Contact Barbara Loe Fisher at 703/938-0342 or visit the NVIC web site at http://www.909shot.com. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Shall the U.S. Ban Single-Family Dwellings? From: The National Center for Public Policy Research Web: http://www.nationalcenter.inter.net John Meredith of the American Policy Center discussed what he termed the "radical green agenda" to "restructure American society." In particularly, he discussed a report by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (Community Sustainability: Agendas for Choice-Making and Action) which calls for the elimination of single-family dwellings, curbing suburbs, reducing the population's meat consumption, imposing population control techniques and more. This document, Meredith said, was submitted to the June 1996 "Habitat II" United Nations Conference in Istanbul as official U.S. policy. Meredith also discussed his group's "fax alert system," designed to send information to interested members of the public. Contact John Meredith at 703/925-0881. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Religious Freedom Blocked From: The National Center for Public Policy Research Web: http://www.nationalcenter.inter.net Ron Rissler of the Rutherford Institute described cases of Americans whose right to practice religion has been blocked. Saying that many people allege that these cases are rare, Rissler noted that all the cases he is discussing were reported to the Rutherford Institute between May 19-23, a time period in which the Rutherford Institute received 245 requests for legal assistance on religious freedom grounds. Among the cases Rissler discussed: 1) In Minnesota, elementary school students were told that they could participate in a talent show. A child tried to sing a religious song, but was blocked. 2) In Louisiana schoolchildren were told to write about Easter. One child wrote about Jesus and the resurrection. The teacher crossed out the word "Jesus" and told the child that she must replace the word "Jesus" with "Bunny Rabbit" or the essay would not be displayed along with the rest of the students'. 3) In Texas two employees of a non-profit organization were terminated after they anointed a company door with oil during a prayer meeting. The violation cited on the termination papers was "destruction of company property." 4) In Georgia a student at a public community college received a failing grade in a painting assignment when he included the words "Jesus Saves" in the background of the painting. Before the art teacher noticed the message in the background, the student had been given an "A" on the project. 5) In California the father of a fifth grade student contacted the Rutherford Institute after his daughter was singled out by her teacher for her religious beliefs. In the classroom, the teacher discussed the "coming out" episode of the television sitcom "Ellen" with the students, stating her opinion that Ellen was brave and a . When the child stated that she disagreed with the teacher's assessment, she was pulled out of the classroom and told that, no matter what her parents taught her, she should be open-minded and listen to other people's viewpoints. Contact Ron Rissler at 202/393-7008. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ F.Y.I. - Israel In The News By: Lee Underwood Week Ending: June 28, 1997/ 23 Sivan 5757 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes the things sown in it to spring up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations." Isaiah 61.11 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ More Land Dealers Killed: Three more Palestinians have been murdered for selling land to Israelis in the Gaza Strip and two others are missing and feared dead, a Jewish settler said Thursday. The settler, Menahem Bet-Halahmi, said he was a member of a secret association, Daroma, which has bought dozens of acres from Palestinians in Gaza in recent years. Bet-Halahmi, head of the Neve Dekalim settlement, would not disclose the names of those he said were killed and missing. Bet-Halahmi said Daroma bought more than 60 acres in a number of plots in Gaza City while the strip was still under Israeli occupation. When Palestinian self-rule began in May 1994, Palestinians bought back most of those plots. The murdered and missing Palestinians either sold their land to Daroma or acted as middlemen in the sales, Bet-Halahmi said. (SNS, AP) Secret Meeting in Eilat: An unprecedented secret meeting of defense experts and scientists was under way as we went to press. Convened by the American Defense Department in the southern Israeli port and beach resort of Eilat, the meeting was called to discuss the ''state of things to come'' in missile warfare. Representatives of the Israel Air Force, Navy defense establishment and the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) are present. The hotel is not answering any questions and there are no interviews being granted. (Jane's, SNS) Shahak Says Syria Ready for War: Israel Defense Force (IDF) Chief-of-Staff Amnon Lipkin Shahak says Syria has been preparing surprise attack capabilities since last fall. Shahak noted that both Syrian military officers and civilian leaders have been talking more about war than peace recently, and that this has filtered down into the rank and file in the Syrian army. He said that Syria recently opened three border crossings with Iraq. The Syrians claim this was economic, Shahak said it also reflected a change in Syria's attitude and anger at the lack of progress in the peace talks. Syria is building secret fortification sites for ballistic missiles. Apparently, the Syrians have been building missile launching sites over the past few months, and they are speeding up their development of chemical warfare heads. Senior Defense advisor Maj.-Gen. David Ivri has called the Syrian missile plan "Israel's number one strategic threat." In the estimation of Israeli military experts, Syria assumes that Israel presently has no deterrent against the missile threat. (Kol Yisrael, Arutz Sheva) Sharon Appointed New Finance Minister: Prime Minister Netanyahu has finalized Ariel Sharon's appointment as Finance Minister and as a member of the Inner Cabinet. Sharon will assume the Finance portfolio and will become an active participant in the Government Political Executive Forum, a policy-making body consisting of the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and Defense Minister. At a meeting in Ram'Allah, PLO Chairman Arafat told Knesset Interior Minister Tarif he was worried about the Cabinet shuffle and with Sharon's appointment to the Inner Security Council in particular. Meanwhile, Sharon secretly met with Arafat's deputy, Mahmoud Abbas, and a second Israeli minister, Natan Sharanksy. In their meeting, Sharon and Abbas discussed a possible permanent peace agreement, Israel TV reported. The meeting took place with the knowledge of PM Netanyahu. It is reported that Foreign Minister Levy and Defense Minister Mordechai were kept in the dark by Netanyahu. In another story, Yanush Ben Gal, former head of the Northern Command during the 1982 Lebanon War, Sunday retracted the slanderous statements made about Sharon who was then the Defense Minister. Ben Gal has been insisting these past 15 years that Sharon had his own secret agenda for the war and ran the war on his own. Sharon has been vilified and been called a traitor and kept out of the Defense Ministry ever since. Ben Gal admitted Sunday that he was wrong and that the course of the war was indeed approved by the government and Sharon did nothing without government support and approval. (Kol Yisrael, Galei Tzahal, Israel Line, IBA TV, MED, AP) Illegal Construction in Jerusalem to Be Discussed: The government is expected to convene a meeting in the near future to discuss illegal construction by Arabs in Jerusalem, Ha'Aretz reported. The discussion comes in light of the Jerusalem Municipality's intention to implement dozens of orders for the demolition of illegal buildings in the city. A date for the discussion will soon be set. Ha'Aretz reported that 30 new mosques have been built illegally in the city during the past few years. The Jerusalem Municipality has held off on the demolition of illegal buildings for several months and PM Netanyahu h ordered Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert to delay demolition on a number of occasions. In another development, Saudi Arabia has announced that it will give the Palestinians $19 million to build 600 homes in Jerusalem to strengthen their hold over disputed parts of the city. Palestinian official Feisel Husseini said construction will begin within six weeks and Palestinians planning to build homes could apply for loans. The money is part of a total of $50 million which Saudi Arabia earmarked for Palestinian construction and infrastructure projects in eastern Jerusalem and deposited two years ago in the Islamic Development Bank. Husseini said the United Arab Emirates have pledg $600 million for 15,000 Arab housing units. (Israel Line, Kol Yisrael) Compromise on Conversion Law Signed: Representatives of the governing coalition and of the Conservative and Reform movements in Israel signed a compromise on Sunday regarding conversion law, Ha'Aretz reported. According to the compromise, the Reform and Conservative branches agreed to postpone the consideration of all appeals submitted to the High Court of Justice on the issue. For its part, the coalition has agreed to delay further Knesset debate on conversion law. In addition, PM Netanyahu will establish a seven- member committee, comprised of representatives from all concerned parties, that will draft a proposal aimed at resolving the issue in a manner that will satisfy all sides. (Israel Line) Netanyahu Survives Vote: Prime Minister Netanyahu defeated a parliamentary no-confidence vote Tuesday but suffered embarrassment when 11 of his own coalition members absented themselves from the vote. Two of the 11 could not make it to the plenum but the other nine boycotted the vote to protest Netanyahu's leadership. 55 votes were registered against the no-confidence motion (in favor of the government) 50 votes for the no-confidence motion (against the government), 2 abstentions and 13 persons were not present or did not participate in the vote. (MED, SNS) On the Northern Front: An IDF soldier was injured slightly in a Hizb'Allah mortar attack in the Security zone of southern Lebanon on Saturday. IDF troops returned fire. A paratroopers' unit raided a terrorist outpost north of the security zone in southern Lebanon Friday night. One terrorist was killed, and others were injured. No IDF soldiers were killed. (SNS. Arutz Sheva, Galei Tzahal) Abu Alla: Violence Will Spread: Chairman of the Palestinian Legislative Authority Abu Alla told an Arabic-language newspaper that the confrontations of the last few days in Hevron will continue to spread gradually to other areas of Judea and Samaria. He said that an explosion is bound tocome, "and when it comes, anything can happen." Jibril Rajub, head of Palestinian Authority (PA) security, told the Middle Eastern television network MBC that the frustration of the Palestinians with Israeli policy will bring about "grave clashes" between the two sides. "All options are open," he said. "We do not intend to cave in, not to Netanyahu and not to anyone else." Another senior PA figure, Saeb Erekat, told a Saudi newspaper two days ago that he foresees the recent violence in Hevron spreading to other cities, leading to a "strong explosion." In a meeting held in the PA autonomous area of Ram'Allah with US Consulate representative Edward Abington, Arafat gave the Americans "official notice" that his people are near an explosion due to the stalled talks with Israel and he is not certain that his security forces will be able to contain the situation once it erupts. In another story, PA Police Chief A'azi Aljabali told an Arabic television station Wednesday that there are more than 150 members of the terrorist organizations Hamas and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) serving in central positions within the Palestinian police. Israel plans to protest this blatant violation of the Oslo accords. (Arutz Sheva, MED) PA Exploiting UN Assembly: Environment Ministry Director-General Nechama Ronen said Wednesday that the PA is exploiting the current UN Environment Conference, in order to attack Isra and reap political gains. She noted that up until now, the PA has rejected all Israeli attempts to initiate cooperation, and advance joint projects on environmental affairs. She added that the PA is continuing to pollute Israel's drinking water and pollute rivers, and is n prepared to enter into negotiations on environmental issues. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat launched a sharp attack on Israel at the UN Conference. He accused Israel of confiscating Palestinian land, uprooting trees, building roads and using the territories as a garbage dump. The PA is gearing for an anti-Israel assault in the UN. They have asked for the convening of the General Assembly in order to resume the discussion on the building in Har Homa. UN General Secretary Kofi Anan will present the Assembly with his own report on the Har Homa building. Israel recently rejected a UN offer to send a diplomatic envoy to monitor the Har Homa construction. Meanwhile, Egyptian Presidential advisor Osama Al-Baz will return to Israel next week to resume his mediation efforts, as agreed in a telephone conversation between Al-Baz and Cabinet Secretary Danny Naveh. (SNS, Kol Yisrael) PA Compiling Blacklist: The council representing Jewish residents of Judea, Samaria and Gaza has obtained a document quoting Salah al-Ta'mari, member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and chairman of the land and settlements committee, as saying: "We mu obtain information on Israelis who use violence against our people and regard them as wanted persons. "The Israelis must understand that those who shed Palestinian blood will be punished -- if not by the Israeli judiciary then by the Palestinian." According to the document, al-Ta'mari said "with this end in view, we must obtain names and pictures of the soldiers, officers, security personnel, and settlers who use violence against our people. When we get this information, we will publicise it." Al-Ta'mari called on Palestinians to submit complaints to a telephone hot line opened up in Bethlehem. The settlement council's director, Aharon Domb, has asked the government take steps against al-Ta'mari: "His remarks are extremely grave, and in fact amount to a permit to attack soldiers, officers, security personnel, and settlers," he said. (ICEJ) Hevron Update: Palestinians clashed with Israeli troops in Hevron on Saturday. Palestinian teen-agers rioted for the second straight day. The Palestinians also hurled some stones toward the Jewish settler enclave of Beit Hadassah, in downtown Hevron. Several teen-agers, wearing skullcaps and the traditional white shirts of the Sabbath, threw stones from the rooftop at the Palestinians below. Over 50 Molotov cocktails were thrown Friday at IDF soldiers near Beit Had-assah and other places, and an IDF position went up in flames. No injuries were reported. Seven Arabs have been injured from rubber bullets. Shots were fired from the direction of Hevron towards Kiryat Arba Wednesday night. The shots passed over homes in the Givat Harsina neighborhood, and no one was injured. Earlier in the evening, three firebombs were thrown at the car of the Deputy Commander of the Hevron region. He was not hurt Tuesday morning, the Commander of the Hevron region ordered that all Israeli flags be lowered at all military bases and posts in Hevron, in the area controlled by Israel. The stated reason behind this order was that flags are 'political.' It is surmised that the presence of Israeli flags in Hevron bothers officials of the PA. The Jewish Community of Hevron issued a statement asking when Israeli flags will be ordered removed from Jerusalem. (VOA, Arutz Sheva, Hevron Press Office) Israel Reacts to Denver Summit Resolution: Israel has spoken firmly against a resolution passed at the summit meeting of the heads of major industrial nations last weekend that called upon Israel and the PA not to take unilateral action that will influence permanent status talks, which "Big Eight" leaders say face a crisis. "We are amazed by the one-sided way in which the resolution views the Middle East. We feel that it ignores the violence and threats of violence that are initiated by Palestinian leaders," said David Bar Ila head of the Policy and Information Department in the Prime Minister's Office. Bar Ilan took displeasure at the fact that the presidents and prime ministers did not mention the recent murder of Arab real estate dealers who sell land to Jews. He said that the resolution was directed against both Israeli settlements and construction in Har Homa. (Israel Line) Correction: The US Congressional decision to allocate $100 million dollars towards the transfer of the American Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem has not been vetoed by President Clinton, as we -- quoting Arutz Sheva radio -- reported last week. The State Department has implied that the bill may be vetoed if the Jerusalem provisions are not removed before it is presented to the White House. We apologize for the error. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FYI - Israel In The News "For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not keep quiet" Isaiah 62:1 'F.Y.I.' may be reproduced & distributed in any form. Please give proper credit. Send comments and subscription requests to Lee Underwood at: fellowship@inet-images.com Web site: http://www.inet-images.com/fellowship/fyi.htm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~