Saturday, January 06, 2007

ADVENTISTS AND THE U.N.







World Church: Faith Communities Could Be More Involved at UN, says Adventist Leader
November 7, 2006 New York, New York, United States .... [IRLA News/ANN Staff]

Jonathan Gallagher, the Adventist church's representative to the United Nations. Although the United Nations has long run on secular lines, the input of faith communities is necessary, says Seventh-day Adventist Church representative to the United Nations (UN) Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Noting that churches need to take the initiative and become involved at the United Nations, he also said, "We need to make such gatherings more faith-friendly so that we can engage the membership of these large religious communities around the world." He added that frequently religious groups did not seem to be attracted to the current UN agenda. Gallagher was speaking on Nov. 2 at a forum planning the largest public gathering at the UN in New York--the annual Department of Public Information/Nongovernmental Organizations' conference that brings together thousands of civil society representatives. "While not wanting to turn the United Nations into a 'religion-fest' we do need to be aware of the values and principles that religious people bring to the table," Gallagher said. "By clearly welcoming people of faith to UN meetings such as this conference, we can do much to ensure that there is more engagement, and so ensure that vital humanitarian and societal goals are achieved. For example, many religious groups are engaged in providing better healthcare and reducing poverty, yet they are often conspicuous by their absence from some UN gatherings. They need to be part of whatever agenda is being established." UN officials agree that in the past religion has not played a major part in agendas and planning, but Gallagher said recently some greater emphasis is evident regarding the contribution made by faith communities. "Recognizing the social contributions of religious believers is essential. People of faith have much to contribute to the wellbeing of this world, and their participation can make a real difference to the lives of so many," Gallagher concluded. Apart from traditional issues of religious freedom, in the last decade Adventists have also addressed other topics on the agenda of the United Nations and other international bodies. Those issues include protection of the environment, combating HIV and AIDS, women's issues, human trafficking and poverty. "The Millennium Development Goals are perhaps the most comprehensive platform where the voice of religious communities could be heard with much greater intensity," says Rajmund Dabrowski, communication director for the Adventist world church. Understanding the vital role of faith communities in alleviating human suffering, last year a group of Christian churches, including Adventists, pledged intentional partnership in combating poverty, malaria, gender inequality, HIV and AIDS and other urgent issues facing humanity. [See ANN Sept. 14]. This commitment was reflected in a letter titled, "A Call to Partnership," which was presented to United Nations officials in New York on Sept. 13, 2005 the eve of the world body's 60th anniversary. "The UN and other international forums offer to Christian churches a platform of practical involvement of what affects all people irrespective of their religion, ethnicity and background," said Dabrowski. "There is much more we can do and as Christians we can make a unique contribution."

IS IT TIME TO LEAVE THE CITIES?

When is it time to leave the cities?

Questions & Answers!

As interest and discussion has increased on the subject of getting out of the cities, many are asking, “Is it really time to leave now”? We hear conflicting voices. Some assure us that there’s no need to be alarmed, yet in the evening news we hear of entire cities being “Swept away” and somewhere in the back recesses of our “Adventist” minds that rings a bell (see 7T 82-83 & Ev. 29). Some say the “Sign” to leave the cities has already come, others confidently state that there’s no need to worry just now, for the sign will yet be in the future when the “Sunday law” is passed.

How can we know the answer to this question? There’s only one way - “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.” 2 Peter 1:19


Is it really time now?
But doesn't the Sunday Law have to come first?
Why did Mrs. White sometimes use language such as
"as fast as possible" and "whenever possible"?
But aren't families counseled to move to cities?
But what about city evangelism?
Anybody losing sleep over this?

- - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------*

1. Is it really time now?


God sent us these warnings approximately one hundred years ago:

The Protestant world have set up an idol sabbath in the place where God's Sabbath should be, and they are treading in the footsteps of the Papacy. For this reason I see the necessity of the people of God moving out of the cities into retired country [places,] where they may cultivate the land and raise their own produce. Letter 90, 1897. {CL 21.1}

As God's commandment-keeping people, we must leave the cities. As did Enoch, we must work in the cities but not dwell in them.-- Evangelism, pp. 77, 78. (1899) {CL 30.4}

Said the messenger of God, “Shall not the cities be warned? Yes, not by God’s people living in them, but by their visiting them, to warn them of what is coming upon the earth.” Manuscript Release, Vol. 1, p. 253 (1902)

Leave the cities, and like Enoch come from your retirement to warn the people of the cities. {1MR 250.2} (1902)

Again and again the Lord has instructed that our people are to take their families away from the cities, into the country, where they can raise their own provisions; for in the future the problem of buying and selling will be a very serious one. We should now begin to heed the instruction given us over and over again: Get out of the cities into rural districts, where the houses are not crowded closely together, and where you will be free from the interference of enemies.--Letter 5, 1904. {CL 9-10}

Let children no longer be exposed to the temptations of the cities that are ripe for destruction. The Lord has sent us warning and counsel to get out of the cities. Then let us make no more investments in the cities. Fathers and mothers, how do you regard the souls of your children? Are you preparing the members of your families for translation into the heavenly courts? Are you preparing them to become members of the royal family? children of the heavenly King? "What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" How will ease, comfort, convenience, compare with the value of the souls of your children?--Manuscript 76, 1905. {CL 12}

"Out of the cities; out of the cities!"--this is the message the Lord has been giving me. The earthquakes will come; the floods will come; and we are not to establish ourselves in the wicked cities, where the enemy is served in every way, and where God is so often forgotten. {RH, July 5, 1906 par. 10}

Out of the cities, is my message at this time. Be assured that the call is for our people to locate miles away from the large cities. One look at San Francisco as it is today would speak to your intelligent minds, showing you the necessity of getting out of the cities. . . . {LDE 95.2}
The Lord calls for His people to locate away from the cities, for in such an hour as ye think not, fire and brimstone will be rained from heaven upon these cities. Proportionate to their sins will be their visitation. When one city is destroyed, let not our people regard this matter as a light affair, and think that they may, if favorable opportunity offers, build themselves homes in that same destroyed city. . . . {LDE 95.3}
Let all who would understand the meaning of these things read the eleventh chapter of Revelation. Read every verse, and learn the things that are yet to take place in the cities. Read also the scenes portrayed in the eighteenth chapter of the same book.--MR 1518 (May 10, 1906). {LDE 95.4}

The instruction is still being given, Move out of the cities. Letter 26, 1907. {CL 28.4}

Who will be warned? We say again, Out of the cities. Manuscript 85, 1908 {CL 14}

Based on the above statements, it should be quite obvious that it has been time to leave the cities for more than one hundred years.


2. But doesn't the Sunday Law have to come first?


Notice the following statement which explains the sign for God’s people to leave the cities:

The time is not far distant, when, like the early disciples, we shall be forced to seek a refuge in desolate and solitary places. As the siege of Jerusalem by the Roman armies was the signal for flight to the Judean Christians, so the assumption of power on the part of our nation in the decree enforcing the papal sabbath will be a warning to us. It will then be time to leave the large cities, preparatory to leaving the smaller ones for retired homes in secluded places among the mountains. 5T 464-465

Some declare that on the basis of this statement, it will not be time to leave the cities until the Sunday law is actually passed. The only problem with this view is that if it isn’t really time yet, then Mrs. White was wrong when she made all of those statements quoted above, many with an obvious sense of urgency, regarding the need for God’s people to leave the cities. Could Mrs. White have given such contradictory counsel? Is there another way of looking at this that would be consistent with all of her other counsel?

It has always been the practice of Seventh-day Adventists to compare scripture with scripture and build our positions by harmonizing all of the Word of the Lord. We do not build our theology on a single statement – especially at the expense of a great weight of scriptural evidence. We must follow this same principle if we would understand the signal to leave the cities.

Following are four lines of evidence, showing us that indeed, the sign to leave the cities has already come.

Evidence #1
First, note that this signal to leave the cities in the last days was drawn from a parallel in history, namely the siege by Rome around the city of Jerusalem. Here’s how Mrs. White describes it in Great Controversy, p. 26: “When the idolatrous standards of the Romans should be set up in the holy ground, which extended some furlongs outside the city walls, then the followers of Christ were to find safety in flight.” This siege was led by the Roman General Cestius. The followers of Christ inside Jerusalem recognized it as the sign to leave the city, but they could not leave due to the siege. Then one day, for no apparent reason, the Roman armies retreated, giving the Christians an opportunity to leave, which they did. Several years later, the Roman armies returned under the leadership of Titus. Eventually, they took the city and destroyed the temple. Thus, there were two sieges, the first being the sign to leave the city.

There is evidence in the Spirit of Prophecy that indeed the sign, or the “First siege” has already come. Let’s look again at the description of that first siege under Cestius found in Great Controversy, noticing the language used: “When the idolatrous standards of the Romans should be set up in the holy ground, which extended some furlongs outside the city walls, then the followers of Christ were to find safety in flight.” (GC 26) Now, carefully consider the following quotation:“The protestant world have set up an idol Sabbath in the place where God’s Sabbath should be, and they are treading in the footsteps of the Papacy. For this reason I see the necessity of the people of God moving out of the cities into retired country places.” Letter 90, 1897 Notice the almost identical language between these two statements. This is compelling evidence that indeed the modern day parallel – the first siege – has come! But what could it be?

In 1888, there was a remarkable development with reference to a nation wide Sunday law in the United States. In that year, Senator H.W. Blair of New Hampshire introduced a bill into congress now known as the “Blair Bill”. This was the first ever attempt to pass a federal Sunday law. Prior to this, there had been state Sunday laws, but this bill, if passed into law, would make Sunday the legal day of worship in all federal territories. Due in part to the efforts of A.T. Jones in hearings before a congressional committee, the Blair bill was not passed into law. Over time, the issue seemed to subside.

Some will respond, “But the Sunday law wasn’t passed!” That’s right – just like the first siege did not desolate the city, truly a remarkable parallel. But could this really be an “Assumption of power” if the law was not passed? Let’s allow Mrs. White to define the term “Assumption of power”. She uses the phrase again in Signs of the Times, November 22, 1899: “But there must be no assumption of power on the part of God's chosen people. Those who take their orders from Christ must not seek to compel others to obey the law of Jehovah.” Notice that even merely “Seeking” to compel others constitutes an “Assumption of power”. But what about the word “Enforcing” – doesn’t that mean the law must be passed? No. According to Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, to enforce can simply mean to “Urge with energy”.

It is also important to notice that while the siege around Jerusalem was the signal for fleeing to the mountains, the modern day parallel, according to Mrs. White would be a bit different. Rather than the signal for sudden flight - dropping all work in the cities, the modern day “Sign” would show God’s people when it would be time to begin making wise movements out of the metropolitan centers to smaller cities, prior to moving to isolated homes in the mountains. Just as the scope of the modern day application of the Abomination of Desolation is much broader (world wide, as opposed to just the city of Jerusalem), so the time frames involved are more expanisve as well - which is certainly consistent with the merciful God we serve!

In the book Patriarchs and Prophets we find yet more startling evidence that indeed the modern day “Sign” has appeared. In the chapter entitled, “Destruction of Sodom”, Mrs. White draws a parallel between the Abomination of Desolation and the warning to Lot to leave Sodom. She then makes clear that the same warning was being given in her own day:

"Before the destruction of Sodom, God sent a message to Lot, "Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed." The same voice of warning was heard by the disciples of Christ before the destruction of Jerusalem: "When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains." Luke 21:20, 21. They must not tarry to secure anything from their possessions, but must make the most of the opportunity to escape.
There was a coming out, a decided separation from the wicked, an escape for life. So it was in the days of Noah; so with Lot; so with the disciples prior to the destruction of Jerusalem; and so it will be in the last days. Again the voice of God is heard in a message of warning, bidding His people separate themselves from the prevailing iniquity." {PP166}

Does this warning message pertain specifically to the "Out of the cities" message? Notice the following statement:

"I could not sleep past two o'clock this morning. During the night season I was in council. I was pleading with some families to avail themselves of God's appointed means, and get away from the cities to save their children. Some were loitering, making no determined efforts. The angels of mercy hurried Lot and his wife and daughters by taking hold of their hands. Had Lot hastened as the Lord desired him to, his wife would not have become a pillar of salt. Lot had too much of a lingering spirit. Let us not be like him. The same voice that warned Lot to leave Sodom bids us, "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, . . . and touch not the unclean." Those who obey this warning will find a refuge. Let every man be wide awake for himself, and try to save his family. Let him gird himself for the work. God will reveal from point to point what to do next." {RH, December11,1900par.10}

How can we draw any other conclusion than this: That the warning message given in Mrs. White's day was to be understood as a parallel to the warning message to Lot, and also to the warning message given by Christ to His disciples regarding the Abomination of Desolation.


Evidence #2
Secondly, notice what we were commanded to do when the sign should come: “It will then be time to leave the large cities, preparatory to leaving the smaller ones for retired homes in secluded places among the mountains.” Here we see a step progression – first leaving the large cities and moving to the smaller ones. Finally, there would be a move from the smaller cities to more secluded rural homes. We’ve already seen that Mrs. White gave a clear call to come out of the cities in her day. But in later years, she began giving specific instructions to leave the “Large” cities. Notice this statement, for example: “Get out of the large cities as fast as possible.” 6T, 195 That should grab our attention, because the first step we were instructed to take when the sign came was to leave the large cities. The only obvious conclusion would be that if we are to take that first step, then the sign must have come.

Evidence #3
The case for the sign to leave the cities becomes even more compelling when we consider the following statement published in the Review and Herald shortly after the hearings on the Blair Bill. Keep in mind that the National Reform Association was a major backer of the Blair Bill.

“We must show to the world that we recognize, in the events that are now taking place in connection with the National Reform movement, the fulfillment of prophecy. That which we have, for the last thirty or forty years, proclaimed would come, is now here; and the trumpet of every watchman upon the walls of Zion should raise the alarm.” {RH, January 1, 1889 par. 3}

Evidence #4
Only several years after the Blair Bill, on August 5, 1892, the United States actually passed legislation by an act of Congress to shut down the Chicago World’s Fair on Sundays.

It is no wonder that Mrs. White declared: “The protestant world have set up an idol Sabbath in the place where God’s Sabbath should be….” Letter 90, 189

By the way, we now hear the rumble of the return of the Roman armies. But this will be the Second Siege! The unabridged Catechism of the Catholic Church (1994 edition) calls for Sunday legislation. The Lord’s Day Alliance is alive and well and announced just after 9-11 that we have entered a time of special opportunity to promote Sunday. (Incidentally, The Lord’s Day Alliance was another major backer of the Blair bill in 1888. Still today their official letter head has the word’s, “Serving the Churches and the Nation since 1888”.) Indeed, the time has come!


3. Why did Mrs. White sometimes use language such as "as fast as possible" and "whenever possible"?


Some point to Mrs. White’s use of qualifying phrases such as “As fast as possible” and “Whenever possible” to suggest that everyone does not need to heed the counsel to get out of the cities. A careful and thorough consideration of these statements actually reveals a view that is in harmony with the mountain of counsel that all of God’s people need to move out of the cities. Notice the statements below:

Get out of the large cities as fast as possible. 6T, 195 {CL 12} (1900)

Whenever possible, it is the duty of parents to make homes in the country for their children. The children and youth should be carefully guarded. They should be kept away from the hotbeds of iniquity that are to be found in our cities. Letter 268, 1906. {CL 12.2}

Now consider these statements in light of the following quotation:

The time has come, when, as God opens the way, families should move out of the cities.” Manuscript 50, 1903

Notice, that this constitutes a warning against rash moves. We must move wisely and carefully in the providence of God, relying implicitly upon His guidance. Consider also the following statement which sheds yet more light on all of this:

For years we have been instructed that our brethren and sisters, and especially families with children, should plan to leave the cities as the way opens before them to do so. Many will have to labor earnestly to help open the way. RH, Sept. 27, 1906

Here we see that God must open the way, and yet the only way that we will know if it “Is possible” is if we are actually exerting efforts along those lines. In fact, how can we expect to know we are moving “As fast as possible” unless we are earnestly seeking to find the way out of the city. These statements deal with how we are to move forward, not whether or not we all need to heed God’s warnings.


4. But aren't families counseled to move to cities?


Finally, some quote a couple of statements in which Mrs. White encourages families to move to cities to engage in missionary work. Once again, they seek to use these quotes to disregard the many other statements making clear our duty to get out of the cities. But upon careful examination and taking all of the counsel of the Spirit of Prophecy into account, we find once again that there is perfect harmony.

We see the great need of missionary work to carry the truth not only to foreign countries, but to those who are near us. Close around us are cities and towns in which no efforts are made to save souls. Why should not families who know the present truth settle in these cities and villages, to set up there the standard of Christ, working in humility, not in their own way, but in God's way, to bring the light before those who have no knowledge of it? {ChS 180.1}

It is not the purpose of God that His people should colonize or settle together in large communities. The disciples of Christ are His representatives upon the earth, and God designs that they shall be scattered all over the country, in the towns, cities, and villages, as lights amidst the darkness of the world. They are to be missionaries for God, by their faith and works testifying to the near approach of the coming Saviour. {8T 244-245}

First, keep in mind that God’s people were explicitly instructed to leave the large cities first, moving to smaller ones. (5T, 464-465) This was confirmed in 1900 when Mrs. White wrote, “Get out of the large cities as fast as possible.” 6T, 195 It would then be in accordance with her counsel to live in smaller cities at that time. The view that would harmonize all the counsel on the subject would be that she must have been referring to the smaller cities. To suggest another interpretation, would be to suggest a glaring contradiction. Notice that the language in both of these quotes places these cities in the context of towns and villages: “Cities and towns”, “Cities and villages” and “Towns, cities, and villages”.


5. But what about city evangelism?


There is no question that Mrs. White was passionate about reaching the lost in the cities with the Three Angels Messages.

“God's people are not doing the work He would have them do for the cities. I have borne this testimony again and again until it seemed as if God's people were not going to do the work; but the cities must be entered. We must not let the people perish that do not know the binding force of God's law. We are responsible. The Lord wants us to awake. We must go forward, or the judgments of God will certainly come upon us. During the past few months the good work has begun among the great cities of the land. As soon as the cities began to be entered, the pain in my heart was relieved." {PUR, January 12, 1911 par. 3}

While she did not advise simply dropping altogether the work in the cities in order to move to the country, she was, nevertheless clear to declare that God would have us work from without the cities to reach the lost masses in the great metropolitan centers of our nation. Her counsel was thus that while we continue to exert our efforts to reach the lost in the cities, we nevertheless work to relocate so that we could follow God’s plan in our evangelistic outreach:

“ Let men of sound judgment be appointed, not to publish abroad their intentions, but to search for such properties in the rural districts, in easy access to the cities, suitable for small training schools for workers, and where facilities may also be provided for treating the sick and weary souls who know not the truth. Look for such places just out from the large cities, where suitable buildings may be secured, either as a gift from the owners, or purchased at a reasonable price by the gifts of our people. Do not erect buildings in the noisy cities”.--Medical Ministry, pp. 308, 309. (1909) {CL 30.3}

Said the messenger of God, “Shall not the cities be warned? Yes, not by God’s people living in them, but by their visiting them, to warn them of what is coming upon the earth.” Manuscript Release, Vol. 1, p. 253 (1902)

As God's commandment-keeping people, we must leave the cities. As did Enoch, we must work in the cities but not dwell in them.-- Evangelism, pp. 77, 78. (1899) {CL 30.4}

6. Anybody losing sleep over this?


The urgency of God’s people moving out of the cities weighed so heavily upon Mrs. White that she lost sleep over it. It would seem that such concern is sadly lacking today.

I could not sleep past two o'clock this morning. During the night season I was in council. I was pleading with some families to avail themselves of God's appointed means, and get away from the cities to save their children. Some were loitering, making no determined efforts. {CL 6.6}
The angels of mercy hurried Lot and his wife and daughters by taking hold of their hands. Had Lot hastened as the Lord desired him to, his wife would not have become a pillar of salt. Lot had too much of a lingering spirit. Let us not be like him. The same voice that warned Lot to leave Sodom bids us, "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, . . . and touch not the unclean." Those who obey this warning will find a refuge. Let every man be wide awake for himself, and try to save his family. Let him gird himself for the work. God will reveal from point to point what to do next. Review and Herald, Dec. 11, 1900. {CL 6-7}

May God have mercy on us!

Source: http://www.backtoenoch.org

SERMON ON THE MOUNT (CHAP. 6)

Matthew 6

1Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
2Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
3But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
4That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
5And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
6But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
7But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
8Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
9After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11Give us this day our daily bread.
12And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
14For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
15But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
16Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
17But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
18That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
19Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
22The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
23But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
24No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
25Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Friday, January 05, 2007

DANIEL PRAYS FOR ISRAEL (70 WEEKS)


Daniel 9

1In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;
2In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
3And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:
4And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;
5We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:
6Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
7O LORD, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.
8O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.
9To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;
10Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.
11Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.
12And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.
13As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.
14Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.
15And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.
16O LORD, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.
17Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.
18O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.
19O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.
20And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;
21Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.
22And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.
23At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.
24Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
25Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
26And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
27And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

*Verse 2: Read Jeremiah's prophecy (Jeremiah 25:1-14; 29:1-14).

MAIL SUBJECT TO INSPECTION




January 5, 2007
Bush claims right to open mail
'Signing statement' covers emergencies and foreign intelligence; critics say it evades limits


By Dan Eggen
The Washington Post

WASHINGTON -- President Bush signed a little-noticed statement last month asserting the authority to open U.S. mail without judicial warrants in emergencies or foreign intelligence cases.
The revelation prompted warnings Thursday from Democrats and privacy advocates that the administration was attempting to circumvent legal restrictions on its powers.
A "signing statement" attached to a postal reform bill Dec. 20 says the Bush administration "shall construe" a section of that law to allow the opening of sealed mail to protect life, guard against hazardous materials or conduct "physical searches specifically authorized by law for foreign intelligence collection."
Officials with the White House and the U.S. Postal Service said the statement was not intended to expand the powers of the executive branch, but merely to clarify ones that already exist for extreme cases.
"This is not a change in law, this is not new, it is not . . . a sweeping new power by the president," spokesman Tony Snow told reporters. "It is, in fact, merely a statement of present law and present authorities granted to the president of the United States."
But some civil liberties and national-security law experts said the statement's language is vague and appears to go beyond long-recognized limits on the ability of the government to open letters and other U.S. mail without approval from a judge.
Kate Martin, director of the Center for National Security Studies in Washington, said the government has long been able to legally open mail believed to contain a bomb or other imminent threat. But authorities are generally required to seek a warrant from a criminal or special intelligence court in other cases, Martin and other experts said.
"The administration is playing games about warrants," Martin said. "If they are not claiming new powers, then why did they need to issue a signing statement?"
Administration critics said they were confused because the relevant portion of the postal reform legislation -- which prohibits opening mail without warrants in most circumstances -- remains unchanged from previous statutes.
A White House official, who was not authorized to speak on the record, said the signing statement, which was first revealed by the New York Daily News, was intended only to make clear that the new law would not limit the ability of the president or attorney general to open mail under emergency provisions of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which governs clandestine spying in the U.S. That law allows authorities to conduct searches and surveillance without warrants in emergency situations, although they are required to apply for a warrant later.
"The point was that because Congress was passing this anew, the concern was that there would be some confusion," the official said. "The law that's been around since 1978 still allows you to conduct warrantless physical searches under some circumstances, and nothing changes that authority."
Last year, Bush authorized a program that allows the National Security Agency to monitor telephone calls and e-mails between the U.S. and overseas without court oversight.

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

AMERICA'S HOLY WARRIORS


Chris Hedges: America’s Holy Warriors


Posted on Dec 31, 2006



A bodyguard from Blackwater USA protects former Coalition Provisional Authority head Paul Bremer in Iraq in 2004. Blackwater’s founder is a right-wing Christian whose paramilitary contractors may be operating outside constitutional restrictions imposed on the police and military

Editor’s note: The former New York Times Mideast Bureau chief warns that the radical Christian right is coming dangerously close to its goal of co-opting the country’s military and law enforcement.
The drive by the Christian right to take control of military chaplaincies, which now sees radical Christians holding roughly 50 percent of chaplaincy appointments in the armed services and service academies, is part of a much larger effort to politicize the military and law enforcement. This effort signals the final and perhaps most deadly stage in the long campaign by the radical Christian right to dismantle America’s open society and build a theocratic state. A successful politicization of the military would signal the end of our democracy.
During the past two years I traveled across the country to research and write the book “American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America.” I repeatedly listened to radical preachers attack as corrupt and godless most American institutions, from federal agencies that provide housing and social welfare to public schools and the media. But there were two institutions that never came under attack—the military and law enforcement. While these preachers had no interest in communicating with local leaders of other faiths, or those in the community who did not subscribe to their call for a radical Christian state, they assiduously courted and flattered the military and police. They held special services and appreciation days for all four branches of the armed services and for various law enforcement agencies. They encouraged their young men and women to enlist or to join the police or state troopers. They sought out sympathetic military and police officials to attend church events where these officials were lauded and feted for their Christian probity and patriotism. They painted the war in Iraq not as an occupation but as an apocalyptic battle by Christians against Islam, a religion they regularly branded as “satanic.” All this befits a movement whose final aesthetic is violence. It also befits a movement that, in the end, would need the military and police forces to seize power in American society. One of the arguments used to assuage our fears that the mass movement being built by the Christian right is fascist at its core is that it has not yet created a Praetorian Guard, referring to the paramilitary force that defied legal constraints, made violence part of the political discourse and eventually plunged ancient Rome into tyranny and despotism. A paramilitary force that operates outside the law, one that sows fear among potential opponents and is capable of physically silencing those branded by their leaders as traitors, is a vital instrument in the hands of despotic movements. Communist and fascist movements during the last century each built paramilitary forces that operated beyond the reach of the law.
And yet we may be further down this road than we care to admit. Erik Prince, the secretive, mega-millionaire, right-wing Christian founder of Blackwater, the private security firm that has built a formidable mercenary force in Iraq, champions his company as a patriotic extension of the U.S. military. His employees, in an act as cynical as it is deceitful, take an oath of loyalty to the Constitution. These mercenary units in Iraq, including Blackwater, contain some 20,000 fighters. They unleash indiscriminate and wanton violence against unarmed Iraqis, have no accountability and are beyond the reach of legitimate authority. The appearance of these paramilitary fighters, heavily armed and wearing their trademark black uniforms, patrolling the streets of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, gave us a grim taste of the future. It was a stark reminder that the tyranny we impose on others we will one day impose on ourselves.
“Contracting out security to groups like Blackwater undermines our constitutional democracy,” said Michael Ratner, the president of the Center for Constitutional Rights. “Their actions may not be subject to constitutional limitations that apply to both federal and state officials and employees—including First Amendment and Fourth Amendment rights to be free from illegal searches and seizures. Unlike police officers they are not trained in protecting constitutional rights and unlike police officers or the military they have no system of accountability whether within their organization or outside it. These kind of paramilitary groups bring to mind Nazi Party brownshirts, functioning as an extrajudicial enforcement mechanism that can and does operate outside the law. The use of these paramilitary groups is an extremely dangerous threat to our rights."
The politicization of the military, the fostering of the belief that violence must be used to further a peculiar ideology rather than defend a democracy, was on display recently when Air Force and Army generals and colonels, filmed in uniform at the Pentagon, appeared in a promotional video distributed by the Christian Embassy, a radical Washington-based organization dedicated to building a “Christian America.” The video, first written about by Jeff Sharlet in the December issue of Harper’s Magazine and filmed shortly after 9/11, has led the Military Religious Freedom Foundation to raise a legal protest against the Christian Embassy’s proselytizing within the Department of Defense. The video was hastily pulled from the Christian Embassy website and was removed from YouTube a few days ago under threats of copyright enforcement.
Dan Cooper, an undersecretary of veterans affairs, says in the video that his weekly prayer sessions are “more important than doing the job.” Maj. Gen. Jack Catton says that his being an adviser to the Joint Chiefs of Staff is a “wonderful opportunity” to evangelize men and women setting defense policy. “My first priority is my faith,” he says. “I think it’s a huge impact.... You have many men and women who are seeking God’s counsel and wisdom as they advise the chairman [of the Joint Chiefs] and the secretary of defense.”
Col. Ralph Benson, a Pentagon chaplain, says in the video: “Christian Embassy is a blessing to the Washington area, a blessing to our capital; it’s a blessing to our country. They are interceding on behalf of people all over the United States, talking to ambassadors, talking to people in the Congress, in the Senate, talking to people in the Pentagon, and being able to share the message of Jesus Christ in a very, very important time in our world is winning a worldwide war on terrorism. What more do we need than Christian people leading us and guiding us, so, they’re needed in this hour.”
The group has burrowed deep inside the Pentagon. It hosts weekly Bible sessions with senior officers, by its own count some 40 generals, and weekly prayer breakfasts each Wednesday from 7 to 7:50 a.m. in the executive dining room as well as numerous outreach events to, in the words of the organization, “share and sharpen one another in their quest to bridge the gap between faith and work.”
If the United States falls into a period of instability caused by another catastrophic terrorist attack, an economic meltdown or a series of environmental disasters, these paramilitary forces, protected and assisted by fellow ideologues in the police and military, could swiftly abolish what is left of our eroding democracy. War, with the huge profits it hands to businesses and right-wing interests that often help bankroll the Christian right, could become a permanent condition. And the thugs with automatic weapons, black uniforms and wraparound sunglasses who appeared on street corners in Baghdad and New Orleans could appear on streets across the U.S. Such a presence could paralyze us with fear, leaving us unable to question or protest the closed system and secrecy of an emergent totalitarian state and unable to voice dissent.
“The Bush administration has already come close to painting our current wars as wars against Islam—many in the Christian right apparently have this belief,” Ratner said. “If these wars, bad enough as imperial wars, are fought as religious wars, we are facing a very dark age that could go on for a hundred years and that will be very bloody.”


PAT ROBERTSON'S NEW PROPHECIES



Pat Robertson Predicts Deadly Attack on U.S.
AP
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (Jan. 3) - In what has become an annual tradition of prognostications, religious broadcaster Pat Robertson said Tuesday God has told him that a terrorist attack on the United States would result in "mass killing" late in 2007.

Robertson's Predictions

"I'm not necessarily saying it's going to be nuclear," he said during his news-and-talk television show "The 700 Club" on the Christian Broadcasting Network. "The Lord didn't say nuclear. But I do believe it will be something like that." Robertson said God told him during a recent prayer retreat that major cities and possibly millions of people will be affected by the attack, which should take place sometime after September. Robertson said God also told him that the U.S. only feigns friendship with Israel and that U.S. policies are pushing Israel toward "national suicide." Robertson suggested in January 2006 that God punished then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon with a stroke for ceding Israeli-controlled land to the Palestinians. The broadcaster predicted in January 2004 that President Bush would easily win re-election. Bush won 51 percent of the vote that fall, beating Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts.

In 2005, Robertson predicted that Bush would have victory after victory in his second term. He said Social Security reform proposals would be approved and Bush would nominate conservative judges to federal courts. Lawmakers confirmed Bush's 2005 nominations of John Roberts and Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court . But the president's Social Security initiative was stalled. "I have a relatively good track record," he said. "Sometimes I miss." In May, Robertson said God told him that storms and possibly a tsunami were to crash into America's coastline in 2006. Even though the U.S. was not hit with a tsunami, Robertson on Tuesday cited last spring's heavy rains and flooding in New England as partly fulfilling the prediction.

POLLS ON IMMEDIATE FUTURE


Polls: Americans Apprehensive About 2007
By Lee Webb
CBN News
January 2, 2007
CBNNews -- WASHINGTON -- Americans have some serious concerns about the New Year, according to a poll conducted by the Associated Press and America Online News.
Six in ten believe terrorists will strike the U.S. again this year, and the same percentage believes terrorists will use a biological or nuclear weapon elsewhere in the world.
Seventy percent expect a major natural disaster this year, and 70 percent also expect global warming to get worse.
Only 29 percent think the U.S. will withdraw its troops from Iraq, and one in four anticipate the Second Coming of Jesus Christ this year.


Tuesday, January 02, 2007

NORTH AMERICAN UNION


WHISTLEBLOWER MAGAZINE
PREMEDITATED MERGER
How leaders are stealthily transforming USA into North American Union

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: January 2, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern

© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

It seems unthinkable. But then, so did 9/11 before it happened.

Can it really be possible that Americans are witnessing a governmental program designed to merge – slowly but surely – the United States, Mexico and Canada?

That question is generating a major amount of below-the-media-radar buzz. In recent months, e-mails and telephone calls have poured into radio talk shows and congressional offices asking: Is there a plan to create a "North American Union"? Will a new currency, the "amero," replace the dollar? Is it true that Mexicans will now get Social Security?

Yet Congress (except for a few representatives like Tom Tancredo and Ron Paul) as well as the establishment press (with notable exceptions like CNN's Lou Dobbs) turn a blind eye – despite major evidence mounting daily.

Just recently, for example, confirmation surfaced that the U.S. government is indeed planning on providing full Social Security benefits to Mexicans – which critics predict will bankrupt the already-shaky system. And a report by the powerful Council on Foreign Relations, regarded by many as something of a "shadow government," has called for a massive transfer of wealth from the U.S. to Mexico and the establishment of a "security perimeter" around North America – rather than securing America's borders with Mexico and Canada.

So, while many dismiss plans to integrate the three North American countries as wild Internet "conspiracy theories," the January edition of WND's acclaimed Whistleblower magazine – titled "PREMEDITATED MERGER" – boldly lays out the disturbing evidence for all to see.

"The idea that our own government could be engaged in compromising U.S. sovereignty in such a radical way is hard for people to contemplate," said WND Managing Editor David Kupelian. "After all, Americans are already reeling from a stunning immigration problem – stunning not only because of the effect 12-20 million illegals have on America's economy, values and crime rate, but also because of the government's refusal to do anything about it. And now they're hearing that perhaps their government has a secret globalist agenda that actually encourages an invasion from the south."

Veteran newsman Lou Dobbs described the merger controversy this way in a recent CNN broadcast: "For any American to think that it is acceptable for the president of the United States and … our government, to proceed without the approval of Congress or a dialogue and a debate and a public voice from the people of this country is absolutely unconscionable. … What they're doing is creating a brave new world, an Orwellian world, in which the will of the people is absolutely irrelevant."

So take a deep breath, and then fasten your seat belt for this guided tour of what the U.S., Mexican and Canadian governments, as well as behind-the-scenes power brokers, have planned for America. Your Whistleblower "tour guides" will be Joseph Farah, Jerome Corsi Ph.D., Lou Dobbs, Rep. Tom Tancredo, Rep. Ron Paul, Patrick Buchanan, Joe Kovacs and David Kupelian.

Highlights of "PREMEDITATED MERGER" include:


"Merger with Mexico" by Joseph Farah

"U.S.-Mexico merger opposition intensifies" by Joseph Farah, who surveys congressmen, newscasters and others aghast at secret efforts to scrap the dollar, end U.S. sovereignty and combine nations.

"A North American United Nations?" by U.S. Rep. Ron Paul

"Lou Dobbs: 'What they're doing is creating a brave new world'"

"The North American Union: How close are we?" by Jerome R. Corsi, Ph.D., who lays out the troubling evidence for a multi-government plan to merge the U.S., Canada and Mexico

"Mexico ambassador: We need North American Union in 8 years"

"Documents reveal 'shadow government,'" on how a Freedom of Information request resulted in 1,000 pages of confirming documentation

"The NAFTA superhighway: Coming soon" by Patrick Buchanan, on why Mexico seeks 'complete integration' with the U.S.

"Texas congressman: Superhighway all about North American Union," on U.S. Rep. Ron Paul's concern over a common currency, borderless travel and even bigger bureaucracy

"Why China dominates NAFTA" by Jerome R. Corsi

"How to survive the NAFTA dollar crisis," by Jerome R. Corsi, including economic advice in the age of the "amero"

"The CFR's vision for a new North America," revealing excerpts from the Council on Foreign Relations' radical 59-page blueprint for "North American community"

"Mexican drug cartels take over U.S. cities" by Joseph Farah, in which U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo reveals how Mexican gangs buy businesses, politicians, power and police departments

"It's the drugs, stupid" by Joseph Farah, on the profound impact Mexico's multi-billion-dollar drug trade exerts on America's immigration crisis

"'Bush doesn't think America should be an actual place,'" by Joe Kovacs, whose interview with Rep. Tom Tancredo reveals that the president believes the U.S. should be merely an 'idea' without borders

"North American students trained for 'merger,'" on why 10 universities are participating in a "model parliament" in Mexico to simulate the "integration" of the three nations

"North American Union major '08 issue?" – a look at a new coalition that is mobilizing grass roots support and targeting Washington lawmakers

"Are globalists evil?" by David Kupelian, on why so many apparently "good people" are so attracted to global government
"As bad as this North American Union plan is," said WND founder and Editor Joseph Farah, "it does succeed in making much more understandable exactly why our government isn't stopping illegal immigration. It doesn't really want to."

Monday, January 01, 2007

UNRAVELLING THE WEB


Taking Apart The Illuminati Piece By Piece
With a little luck and a lot of inside information, America may be able to defeat the forces of evil. Italian aristocrat helps put the pieces of the evil puzzle together with a wealth of information from his days as a member in the 33rd degree of the Monte Carlo P2 Masonic Lodge. 21 Oct 2006
By Greg Szymanski

Taking apart the web of deceit and diabolical corruption within the Illuminati requires solid inside information and of course a little bit of luck. And now comes to the American scene Leo Zagami, Italian aristocrat and former Illuminati insider of the 33 rd degree from the influential Monte Carlo P2 Masonic Lodge, with shocking information about how the forces of evil really work.

Zagami left the clutches of the evil Illuminati in June, saying he finally came to the light of God, now wanting to warn the American people about how the tentacles of evil are lurking deep within all of the country's sacred institutions.

When Zagami recently decided to go public with names, dates and shocking inside information, the powers that be in Europe tried to first bribe him with riches, fame and wealth. When that failed, the wrath of the Illuminati came down hard on him, arresting him on two separate occasions, including torture and beatings.

After recently getting assistance from the Norwegian government, where he now resides, Zagami decided to publish a multi-lingual web site in order to protect his life and the lives of his closest family members. He also recently made his first appearance on American radio, appearing on Greg Szymanski's show, The Investigative Journal, telling listeners how to be watchful of Opus Dei, the Jesuits and the Vatican since they provide the perverted guidance of the forces of evil and the New World Order.

And since going public only a couple of weeks ago, Zagami has shaken up the powers that be from Rome to New York by revealing how their network really operates. Although the Illuminati encompasses a complicated web of Masonic organizations throughout the world, he claims the heart of the demonic beast resides in the Vatican, using Opus Dei and the Jesuit Order as henchmen and infiltrators to spread evil worldwide.

This latest correspondence form Zagami to the Arctic Beacon illustrates how high level Illuminists are seriously worried about blowing their cover due to Zagami's decision to go public. Further, it is important to keep his name in the public eye for his protection and the protection of his family.

Here is the latest correspondence, saying to remember the names presented as many of them provide the link to the Vatican to their servants in Washington D.C.

"I know the e-mail bellow (to be translated soon) by Senior Italian OTO Illuminati is in Italian but as a researcher and for my own security I wish to forward it to you and make it public. It also involves the Cairo Illuminati gathering of 2003 and the infamous Alberto Moscato, showing very clearly how scared the Italian OTO Illuminati were about me going public against them and exposing their satanic Illuminati control.
Moscato's was second in command (in charge of the Italian OTO Caliphate until his recent death or murder) and the author of the e-mail says "imagine what the priests will do if they know about it" and that's because some of the Opus Dei can't stand these Jesuit driven Satanists and they know it.
"When I was with Moscato in the spring of 2000 he was blabbering on and on all the time about how cool it was to live in Rome, the capital of Christianity and in defiance of the Opus Dei and the Vatican because of the total Jesuit support to his OTO satanic Lodges.
"After many phone conversations with Alberto Moscato, we finally had a four hour meeting in a Bar in the Zona Eur of Rome , AND HE WAS LIVING AT THE TIME IN AN APARTMENT OF FRIEND MASSIMO INTROVIGNE OF CESNUR.
"Alberto Moscato was an intelligence operative officially working for la Guardia di Finanza ( tax police) in the internet surveillance department but also was a heroin addict with 3 wholes in his stomach due to shooting in action. Alberto, a 33 degree and Vatican Knight of Malta of the 3rd degree, loved guns, and when I use to call him he was usually in the police training center, shooting. He used to wear a little silver pistol as a necklace...a pure Satanist!
"Well, after my meeting we only spoke by phone from time to time as a member of the Council for the Cairo 2004 gathering and other internal matters. But I got in a bad conflict with him after the 2003 episode of leaving the American illuminati because he was strongly supporting the U.S. Illuminati Satanists against me and every interest of our beloved Italy, just wanting to make more profit and gain more control over his followers without showing them any truth but only more manipulation and mind control in close association with the Satanic Churches of Northern Europe (Scandinavia) controlled by disciples of Anton La Vey.

Most Italian masons supported my decision of distancing myself from OTO Calipahte Satanist because Moscato was becoming increasingly an easy target and they knew I was right in my decision. At that point the rival OTO-FHL linked with the Opus Dei invited me to have my meetings with them in Bologna instead, and they were very delighted to offer me the Opus Dei HQ's in Villa Leona for their meetings.

"Moscato died last spring in mysterious circumstances (drug overdose or a murder?) What I know for sure is that a complaint was filed against him in high places a week before. Comandante Giorgio Hugo Balestrieri, now living in New York, always knew well aboutMoscato's activities but was getting worried about the exposure with Satanism and Crowley.
"I must say instead that the OTO-FHL is a far more experienced body of initiates because they are much older in age and also officially independent from the American Illuminati but in reality secretly linked with the Monte Carlo Lodge as their Gran Prior (IXo degree) is also a member of the Monte Carlo Lodge and a Senior member of the Rectified Scottish Rite promoted by the Jesuits...so we are back to square one: the Jesuits are in full control as usual of Satanism even when Opus Dei are involved they take over the show.
"Same with the Opus Dei and their own IIluminati Academy in Piazza di Spagna directed by Gran Master Giuliano Di Bernardo (Past Grand Master of Italian Freemasonry) directly linked to the Duke of Kent and the English aristocracy but also once again to the Jesuit Illuminati tradition of Frater Spartacus.
"In the Conference of San Cerbone (in June) they were all there including the IXo OTO-FHLGran Prior Count Nicholas, the Sicilian Grand Master of the Rectified Scottish Rite Luigi Piazza and last but not least Comandante Giorgio Hugo Balestrieri arriving directely from New York.
"Di Bernardo was not there because he is not welcome in the Monte Carlo Lodge anymore because of what he did in 1993 against the Italian Grand Orient supporting the english Grand Lodge with the creation of his own Obedience the Regular Grand lodge of Italy with strong Vatican support to cover up for the P2 scandal.
"But in reality at the top they are all in it together with their secret gatherings like the one of Bocca di Magra of November last year were a few decide for the many and the unknown (Crowley's motto).
"In San Cerbone, one of the main issues on the table was Rui Gabirro the Duke of Gabinda illegal activities all over the world that were exposing to much his Jesuit backing and connections, and we find a lot of accusations against this dubious Freemasons all over the net.
"The Duke is in charge of the new Masonic High Councils created since 2005 by the P2 Illuminati and the Jesuits and expanding with the blessings of the Monte Carlo Lodge worldwide at an alarming rate, even for regular Masonic observers with no degrees or inside knowledge this starts to be a clear irregularity that serves the Illuminati Jesuit plot in connection with the French Zionist lobby and the Jacobite tradition. .
Greg SzymanskiGreg also has his own daily show on the Genesis Communications Network. Go to http://www.gcnlive.com/ Greg Szymanski is an independent investigative journalist and his articles can been seen at www.LewisNews.com. He also writes for his own site www.arcticbeacon.com
Listen to my Radio Broadcast live Monday night at 8pm Pacific time on LewisNews, returning Jan. 1 2006 Radio http://webs.lewisnews.com/radio/index.htm. Greg is also regular on Rense.com the first Thursday of every month at 9-10 pm pacific time.



Source: http://www.arcticbeacon.com/21-Oct-2006.html

ROTARY CLUB AND THE U.N.

Welcome to the Rotary Club of New York

Welcoming Note: The International Division of the New York Rotary Club is delighted to present this newsletter in order to demonstrate the commitment and continuing support of Rotary to the United Nations and its Millennium Development Goals.This newsletter will also serve as a platform for information and dialogue between all Rotarians who are interested in the programs of the United Nations and in contributing towards achieving its goals. We invite you to share your experiences from collaboration in projects between Rotary and the United Nations. Please forward any examples and comments regarding recent projects to nyrotaryun@aol.com.Also, all Rotarians are invited to attend the NY Rotary International Breakfast Meetings which are scheduled on the third Wednesday of every month and held at the German House located at 871 United Nations Plaza (49th St. and First Ave). These meeting provide an opportunity for Rotarians to stay informed regarding United Nation programs and to exchange views on related topics with UN officials and representatives of its member states. Reservations for attending the meetings can be made at ny.rotary@verizon.net and copy to GBRotary@aol.com.
Giorgio Balestrieri - International Division Chairman,
John German Co-Director, Josef Klee - Coordinator,Sylvan Barnet - Rotary International. Alt Representative to the UN,Tom McConnon - Newsletter Editor

CHRISTIAN WORDS, UN-CHRISTIAN ACTIONS

Christian Words, Un-Christian Actions

America has entered troubling times. Our nation's debt load is staggering, yet our ability to consume more than we earn only increases. We are engaged in an expensive war which we're told will not end in our lifetimes, if ever... Our country's goodwill has been sullied by its use of torture, America is increasingly alienated from the rest of the world, and we are more dependent on oil than a junkie is on heroin. Wealth disparity and racial tension increasingly foster disorder, while the family unit and even our community ties are frayed and deteriorating.
Who do we blame for these conditions? Do we blame the politicians we elect; the lawyers we hire? Do we blame auto manufacturers for selling us the cars we demand? The junk food producers for providing the nutritionless food we desire? Do we blame the banks and foreign governments for loaning us money? Our teachers for our children's failings?
Whether or not we accept responsibility for the condition of modern America, we have no choice as to the consequences. Do we accept responsibility to achieve solutions, or is that someone else's also?
The goal of this website is to lead us toward solutions. The matter at hand is to define the moral code which is America's. If America is a nation of good, then it must be held to a standard of goodness. If Americans share a consensus that our nation should not torture, initiate expensive, unjustified and unpopular wars, neglect its poor or its environment, fail to educate its children, or live beyond its means, then why are all of these problems so immense in today's America?
We possess the power to change...
The first step in reaching a solution is to identify the problem. In today's America more than ever before, corporate and special interests dominate the political process, manipulating not only the government but the information Americans receive through media and advertising. Political candidates from both parties seek the votes of individual Americans, but their paymasters are the business and other interests who finance their campaigns. The checks and balances of government have weakened, and the power of the executive branch is now immensely greater than intended by the framers. But more crucially, the balance of power has shifted such that the American people are being dominated by the government which is supposed to serve them. This imbalance will increase, for government only grows larger, and profit-driven business interests only seek greater profits.
America has become Orwell's anti-Utopian vision, where those with power and influence dominate those whose noses are too close to the grindstone to have the luxury to seek escape. The "rags to riches" American Dream is realized by fewer and fewer Americans, while more and more people struggle just to avoid economic decline. Like in Orwell's 1984, we are at endless war with vague and shifting foreign enemies, our attention shifted abroad; our government expands its control, employing torture and propaganda to exert its righteousness.
And George W. Bush, pretending to be a common man who cuts brush and goes fishing, is the worldly leader of this massive federal behemoth. He gained office by feigning a Christian faith that was driven by political aspiration, and once in power he demonstrated his true heart by his actions - in an immoral war that has drained energies better spent protecting America from Islamic extremism; in the use of torture, which he then blamed on the loyal troops who did as he bade them; in the draining of our nation's wealth through massive bureaucratic spending coupled with tax refunds to the wealthy. All in Christ's name, for Bush has represented himself to be a born-again Christian.
The first step toward a solution of America's diverse and dire problems is to hold the "accountability president" accountable to the ethical code he said he'd follow but didn't: but also to hold America to that same code. Because with Christianity, one may not have one's cake and eat it too - if America is to call itself a Christian nation, it had best stop proudly proclaiming itself to be "the greatest nation in the world," and start addressing its moral failings. For what would Jesus say of our nation? And what does the Bible teach will become of nations who turn away from God?

2007.....IN WITH THE NEWS




Sunday, December 31, 2006

2006 MOST CORRUPT POLITICIANS

Judicial Watch Announces List of Washington’s
“Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians” for 2006
List Also Includes 6 "Dishonorable Mentions"
(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, today released its 2006 list of Washington’s “Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians.” The list, in alphabetical order, includes:
1. Jack Abramoff, Former Lobbyist – Abramoff is at the center of a massive public corruption investigation by the Department of Justice that, in the end, could involve as many as a dozen members of Congress. Abramoff pleaded guilty to conspiracy, fraud and a host of other charges on January 3, 2006, and was sent to prison in November to serve a five-year, 10-month sentence for defrauding banks of $23 million in Florida in 2000.

2. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) – In January 2006, Hillary Clinton’s fundraising operation was fined $35,000 by the Federal Election Commission for failing to accurately report more than $700,000 in contributions to Clinton’s Senate 2000 campaign. New information also surfaced in 2006 raising more questions about Hillary and her brother Anthony Rodham’s connection to the Clinton Pardongate scandal, where presidential pardons were allegedly traded in exchange for cash and other favors.

3. Former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R-CA) – In November 2005, Cunningham pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud, wire fraud, and tax evasion. He was sentenced to 8 years, four months in prison and ordered to pay $1.8 million in restitution in March 2006.

4. Former Rep. Tom Delay (R-TX) – Tom DeLay, who was forced to step down from his position as House Majority Leader and then resign from Congress, decided in 2006 not to run for re-election. Congressman DeLay has been embroiled in a series of scandals from bribery to influence peddling, and was indicted twice by grand juries in Texas.

5. Former Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) – Foley left the House in disgrace after news broke that he had been sending predatory homosexual emails to a House page. A recent House Ethics Committee report indicated that Republican leaders knew about Foley’s dangerous behavior, but failed to take action. Democrats, meanwhile, shopped the story to the press to influence the elections. Outrageously, the Committee recommended no punishment for those involved.

6. Rep. Denny Hastert (R-IL) – In addition to mishandling the Foley scandal, outgoing House Speaker Dennis Hastert allowed House ethics process to grind to a halt on his watch. Gary Condit, Cynthia McKinney, William Jefferson, John Conyers, Tom Delay, Duke Cunningham, Jim McDermott, Patrick Kennedy are examples of alleged wrongdoers who faced little-to-no ethics enforcement in the House.

7. Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) – Hastings is one of only six federal judges to be removed from office through impeachment and has accumulated staggering liabilities ranging from $2,130,006 to $7,350,000. Hastings was “next in line” for Chairmanship of the House Select Committee on Intelligence until a wave of protest forced Nancy Pelosi to select another candidate. Nonetheless, Hastings is expected to continue to serve on the Intelligence Committee.

8. Rep. William “Dollar Bill” Jefferson (D-LA) – Jefferson is alleged to have accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to help broker high-tech business deals in Nigeria. According to press reports, he was also caught on tape discussing the deals, while an FBI search of his home uncovered $90,000 in cash stuffed in his freezer.

9. Former Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) – Ohio Republican Congressman Bob Ney resigned in early November 2006, three weeks after pleading guilty for accepting bribes from an Indian casino in exchange for legislative favors. Ney was the first congressman to be convicted of a crime in the web of scandals involving former lobbyist Jack Abramoff and is expected to serve a jail sentence.

10. Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) – Senator Reid came under fire in 2006 for failing to properly report to Congress a $700,000 land deal. Reid also accepted more than $30,000 of Abramoff-tainted money allegedly in return for his ''cooperation'' in matters related Nevada Indian gaming.

Dishonorable Mentions include:
1. Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) – According to complaints released by the House Ethics Committee recently, aides to Representative John Conyers (D-MI) alleged their former boss repeatedly violated House ethics rules, forcing them to serve as his personal servants, valets, and as campaign staff while on the government payroll.

2. Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) – In May 2006, Kennedy crashed his car into a Capitol Hill barricade at nearly 3 a.m. in the morning. Kennedy blamed the incident on a reaction to prescription pills, but officers at the
scene said he smelled of alcohol. Nonetheless, they escorted him home rather than arresting him.

3. Former Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) – McKinney assaulted a Capitol Hill police officer in April after refusing to go through a metal detector. While McKinney was never forced to answer in a court of law for her behavior, she lost her bid for re-election in 2006.

4. Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) – Iraq war critic John Murtha was incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s first choice for House Majority Leader despite the ethical skeletons in his closet. Murtha is an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1980 “Abscam” scandal, which included the arrest and convictions of a senator and six congressmen. Murtha, whose current ethics continue to be questioned, lost his bid for Majority Leader to Maryland Democrat Steny Hoyer.

5. Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) – News reports surfaced in 2006 that Illinois Senator Barak Obama entered into an unusual land deal with a now-indicted political fundraiser, Tony Rezko. The complicated real estate transaction occurred when it was widely known that Rezko was under federal investigation in a political corruption scandal.

6. David Safavian, Former Bush Administration Official – Safavian, the former White House Chief of Procurement and former Chief of Staff for the General Services Administration, was indicted on September 19, 2006 on five counts of lying about his dealings with former lobbyist Jack Abramoff and obstructing a Senate investigation of his dealings. Safavian resigned from his White House position three days prior to his arrest.

“This list shows public corruption is endemic to our nation’s capital and that the anti-corruption work of Judicial Watch is needed more than ever,” stated Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “The list could be much longer, as there are far too many politicians who abuse the public trust and place themselves above the law.”

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Source: http://www.judicialwatch.org/6091.shtml

2006 BAD, 2007 WORSE?

From the events of the past year: Military Commissions Act (HR 6166); Pervasive government wire-tapping; Torture of "enemy combatants"; And constant media assisted "terror" fear-mongering, I can only expect more of the same for this "new" year.

Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 (King James Version)
The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.


What are we to expect this year? More erosion of civil-rights; Suspension of travel priviliges; More government intrusion into the everyday lives of law abiding citizens with the pretext of "Home-land Security".
Who knows? But, one thing is sure: We've come a long way, baby! And more of the "globalist" tricks will continue to transform our republic into a third-world dictatorship, for safety of course! And expect the "holy war on evil" to escalate; Also, "shock and awe" tactics will continue. My question is how much longer the citizens will tolerate "domestic shock and awe"? Are we still in the western hemisphere? Or, are we now in Limbo?
Or has our country become Colombia, or maybe Cuba? Who knows? I just can't put my finger on it any more.
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Arsenio.
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Saturday, December 30, 2006

GOD HAS A CHURCH


God Has a Church


It is not the great cathedral,
Neither is it the national establishment
Neither is it the various denominations.
It is the people
who love God
and keep his commandments.
“Where two or three are gathered
in my name,
There I am in the midst of them.”
[Matthew 18: 20]

Where Christ is among the humble few,
This is Christ’s church,
for the presence of the high and Holy One Who inhabiteth eternity
CAN ALONE CONSTITUTE
A CHURCH
[The Upward Look, Page 315]


GOD REJECTS SAUL


22And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
23For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
24And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.
25Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD.
26And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.
27And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.
28And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou.
29And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.
1 Samuel 15:22-29 (King James Version)

CHOOSE LIFE


1And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee,

2And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;

3That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee.

4If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:

5And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.

6And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.

7And the LORD thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee.

8And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day.

9And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers:

10If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.

11For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.

12It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?

13Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?

14But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

15See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;

16In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

17But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;

18I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.

19I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore
choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

20That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

Deuteronomy 30 (King James Version)