Are We Living in the Time of the End?

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Are We Living in the Time of the End?


A Newsweek report notes that more scholarship has been devoted to the study of end-time biblical prophecies in the past 30 years than in the previous 300. A series of novels based on biblical end-time prophecies have sold more than 9 million copies. Is there a way to tell if we are nearing the end?

by Gary Petty

A resurgence of fascination with biblical prophecy has spawned religious debate over interpretations of the visions of Daniel, Jesus Christ's prophecy of the end of the age shortly before His crucifixion and the apostle John's mysterious images in the book of Revelation.



However, there are practical concerns behind these intriguing curiosities. People want to know about the future. We are living in turbulent times. Many are concerned about the state of the world, and some discerning souls are turning to the Bible—the prophetic passages in particular—for solace and insight.



A Newsweek article titled "The Way the World Ends" states: "Of all the books of the Bible, none has fired the imagination of the West more than the last, the mysterious Apocalypse [or Revelation]. The four horsemen of the Apocalypse, the Whore of Babylon, the deceitful Antichrist—these are just a few of the powerful and troubling images that Revelation injected into Western art and consciousness.



"Its prophecies have been of even greater consequence: the return of the Jews to the Holy Land, the millennial kingdom of Christ on earth, the Battle of Armageddon and the promise of a new heaven and earth have justified numerous wars and revolutions and inspired utopias and religious sects of every sort" (Kenneth Woodward, Nov. 1, 1999).



How can we understand biblical prophecy? Are there rules to the strange images and predictions? Where do we even start?



A pivotal passage



Let's begin by looking at divine predictions given to the prophet Daniel in the sixth century before Christ.



Daniel was a young Jewish man who had been taken captive by the Babylonians. According to Daniel 2, the Babylonian ruler, King Nebuchadnezzar, had a disturbing dream and decided that it possessed a hidden message. He called his astrologers and sorcerers together and commanded that they tell him the meaning. Of course, by their own human power they couldn't.



God, however, revealed to His servant Daniel the dream and its meaning. The Creator looks out across the expanse of time, understands what humanity will do and determines how He will intervene in human history to bring about His ultimate plan for mankind.



Daniel appears before the king and proceeds to proclaim that Nebuchadnezzar's dream involved an image of a man. We pick up the story in verse 32. Daniel tells the king: "This image's head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.



"You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth."



Daniel continues: "This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all—you are this head of gold.



"But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others.



"Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.



"And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.



"Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure" (verses 32-45).



God reveals the meaning



The image of Nebuchadnezzar's dream may seem unfathomable, except that God, though Daniel, reveals the meaning. This simple prophecy supplies a major framework for many prophecies throughout Scripture. Nebuchadnezzar's image concerns four great empires, beginning with Babylon. From our historical vantage point today the elements of the prophecy become clear.



The Babylonian Empire was followed by three other empires. First came the Persian Empire that destroyed Babylon's rule. The Persians were, in turn, conquered by the Greeks under Alexander the Great. The Greek Empire eventually was gobbled up into the Roman Empire.



All this was recorded centuries before it came to pass. Fulfilled prophecy proves the divine inspiration of the Bible! But all of the prophecies of Daniel 2 aren't just for the past. He foretells that the fourth empire will exist at a time when the Messiah comes to rule the earth.



Let's go back and reread verse 44: "And in the days of these kings [the 10 kings represented by the toes of the image] the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever."



Here is a vital key to understanding end-time biblical prophecy. Before the Messiah comes to rule over God's Kingdom on the earth, there must first be a revived fourth kingdom, a resurrected Roman Empire, involving 10 rulers.



When will the Messiah return?



Did you know that between a fourth and a third of the Bible is prophetic? Much of that information is concerned with what it calls "the end time."



It seems that many generations have thought that they were living in the time just before the return of Christ. The Newsweek article mentioned earlier states: "In the 12th century, for example, the Crusaders saw the recapture of Jerusalem from the Muslims as a defeat of the Antichrist. Christopher Columbus set sail thinking his voyage to India would hasten the return of Christ to earth.



"For the same reason, Oliver Cromwell readmitted Jews to England after the English civil war, thinking his victory would establish the New Jerusalem on British soil. Isaac Newton wrote a book on biblical prophecy, hoping to prove that Ôthe world is governed by providence.' In Puritan New England, America's greatest theologian, Jonathan Edwards, studied John's Apocalypse and calculated that the millennium of Christ's kingdom on earth would begin in the year 2000."



Jesus prophesied, as recorded in Matthew 24:22, that unless He returns to intervene, all humanity will be destroyed. This horror is precariously possible with modern nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. The Messiah won't return until many prophesied events take place first—things like world wars, disease epidemics on a global scale and a rise in natural disasters.



No one knows the exact time of Christ's return. Jesus Himself said, "Of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone."



Jesus Christ's focus: Be prepared



Jesus also commanded His followers to be aware of events and how they relate to prophecy. Just after saying that no one knows the day or hour of His return, He told His disciples, as recorded in Mark 13:33-37:



"Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch.



"Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning—lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping.



"And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!"



Christ's instructions to watch mean more than just being aware of events. His followers are to be spiritually prepared for His return. In Luke 21:34-35 Jesus says:



"But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.



"Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."



Will you be ready?



Are you being prepared for the return of Christ? Are you living your life in complete dedication to God and His ways? Is your religion a social club or a dynamic force of change in your life? The purpose of The Good News radio program and magazine is to challenge you to go to God and have Him change your life.



Why were your born? There is a big difference between grasping your future, and simply going on the way you have been. The choice is up to you. GN





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Recommended Reading

We certainly live in troubling times. The world is filled with war, terrorism, unrest, poverty, corruption, crime, natural disasters and the like. Are these signs that we are in the prophesied time of the end? You need to understand what the Bible reveals about end-time events. Request our eye-opening booklet Are We Living in the Time of the End? to understand what it all means.

What Place Is Safe?

From http://el-paso.ucg.org/  or call 1-888-886-8632.

What Place Is Safe?


by Frank Dunkle

Have you heard what has been going on in Libya? Demonstrations, riots, fighting. It's not only there; the turmoil seems to have started in Tunisia and spread across the Middle East. Scenes on the television news and Internet sites show crowds of people chanting and screaming. At times violence breaks out, with rock throwing, firebombs and gunfire.



But Libya, Egypt and Tunisia are far away from most of us, right? That sort of thing could never happen here, could it?



Violence far and near

I realize that for some of you reading this, Libya may be fairly nearby, but for most, the fighting in the Middle East is very far away. But it should still matter to you.



Vertical thinkers know that the Creator God takes a special interest in the Middle East, and particularly the area around Jerusalem. Bible prophecies show that what happens there can spread, and it will affect all the rest of the world. That is a discussion for another time, but if you would like to learn more, request or download the free booklet The Middle East in Bible Prophecy. It is important to realize that what we saw happening in the Middle East could happen in your neighborhood too.



History shows that time and again political unrest has led to bloodshed. In the 1830s and '40s a wave of revolutions swept across most European nations, with scenes that would appear very much like those we've watched on television in recent weeks.



This year marks the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War. It began because men could not reconcile their political differences about government and slavery. Political disagreements escalated into one of the bloodiest wars in history, right here in the United States.



Still, you might say, things have changed a lot since the 1800s. They have in ways, but it was less than 20 years ago that a six-day riot broke out in Los Angeles, California. Nearly a billion dollars of property damage occurred, 53 people died and thousands more were injured—not in the Middle East, but in California. It could happen in your town.



How can you be safe?

So, how can you be safe in a world of violence? Is there a place to be safe or measures you can take? In a word, yes! But real safety won't be found behind bars and locks or from guns and ammunition. That same God who is concerned with events in the Middle East is concerned with your safety as well. If you follow His direction in your life, He promises real, physical protection.



A particularly poetic portion of the Bible says it this way: "A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you." Why? "Because you have made the Lord…your dwelling place" (Psalm 91:7, 9).



Consider the story of a young man in the Bible who was in Jerusalem when an invading army captured and destroyed the city. This fellow named Baruch bewailed his fate, but God sent him a personal message promising to protect his life in the midst of war and destruction (Jeremiah 45:2-5). What does this story have to do with you, today? Everything!



These stories are not just ancient fables. They're examples and promises that we can rely on when the world around us gets crazy. What we saw in the Middle East will happen again and again. Yet we do not have to be afraid. If we look to and follow the one, true God, we can trust that He will keep us safe. For more information, see "Coming Calamities: Does God Offer Protection

Can Iodine Pills Protect You from Radiation Exposure?

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Can Iodine Pills Protect You from Radiation Exposure?


A commentary by Larry J. Walker
United Church of God pastor, Bend & Medford, Oregon, and Red Bluff & Eureka, California


The devastating earthquake and tsunami in northern Japan has shocked the world and dominated the news with heart-rending scenes of destruction and suffering. More recently a related crisis—leakage of radiation resulting from damage to nuclear reactors—has created widespread concern as far away as the United States, especially on the West Coast. I live in central Oregon, some 250 miles away from the Oregon coast, so it is sobering to hear newscasters single out "those of you living in the West" in their opening greetings.







Despite the reassurance of virtually all scientific authorities that there is absolutely no danger to anyone in the United States, many citizens are taking precautions that they think will save them from harm in the event that radiation exposure becomes an issue here.







Limitations of iodine pills



Will iodine pills save you from harm if you should be exposed to dangerous levels of radiation?







On March 21, the WebMD website posted this information in an article titled, "Potassium Iodide Pills, Can They Protect You from Radiation Exposure":







"In the wake of the nuclear plant meltdown in Japan, Americans are buying up potassium iodide pills—also called iodine pills. Potassium iodide helps prevent some of the damaging effects of radiation. The thyroid gland in the neck is one of the most sensitive organs in the body to radiation. Exposure to high levels of radiation—as occurs during a nuclear plant meltdown—can lead to thyroid cancer.







So how does potassium iodide help?







The thyroid uses iodine normally to make thyroid hormone. The radiation from a nuclear event releases radioactive iodine into the air. When the radioactive iodine enters the body, the thyroid quickly scoops it up.







Taking potassium iodide pills temporarily stops the thyroid. If taken prior to radiation exposure, the iodine pills counter the effect of the radioactive iodine on the thyroid. This helps prevent the development of thyroid cancer down the road" (WebMD.com).







However, the article also points out that, "It's important to note that potassium iodide pills protect only the thyroid. They don't prevent your body from taking in the radiation and don't help prevent radiation damage to other parts of the body."







Despite the reassurances from the scientific community, many stores carrying iodine pills have sold out their entire inventory to frightened consumers who are seeking protection in case the authorities are either wrong or withholding the truth.







This reaction is reminiscent of the widespread purchase of fallout shelters and stockpiling of food during the Cold War of the 1950s.







Greater earthquakes and nuclear dangers foretold



What can you do to protect yourself? Should you even be concerned?







In His famous Olivet prophecy, Jesus warned of mind-numbing tragedies that would take place at the time of the end, including earthquakes, tsunamis and major wars that would result in the annihilation of all humanity were it not for God's intervention (Luke 21:11, 25; Matthew 24:21-22). The term "apocalyptic" that is often used to describe large scale disasters stems from the Greek word apokalupsis (revelation) in the title of the final book of the Bible. The book of Revelation offers frightening details of this coming time of massive devastation and death.







Imagine the devastation in northern Japan on a worldwide scale! Massive earthquakes, tsunamis and nuclear warfare will exact a massive toll of human suffering and death on an unprecedented scale. Iodine pills, fallout shelters, stockpiled food or any other human efforts will not afford protection from this great time of trouble.







Jesus warns that most living in the end-time world will be complacent, apathetic and blissfully unaware of the impending devastation, as was the case in the world that perished in the great Flood of Noah's day.







The only source of real protection



The good news is that God offers protection to His people who remain vigilant and faithful. Jesus expresses this promise and exhortation: "But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:34-36).







Find out more about the times that are coming and what you can do to be assured of God's protection by requesting or downloading our free booklets, Are We Living in the Time of the End? and The Book of Revelation Unveiled.

How Long Will the NATO Alliance Last?

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How Long Will the NATO Alliance Last?


The 50th anniversary of the NATO alliance in 1999 was a celebration of the successful defense of the free world. Just 10 years later there are signs of serious trouble within the alliance.

by Paul Kieffer

One month before being officially nominated as the Democratic Party candidate for president in 2008, then Senator Barack Obama visited Berlin, Germany, and gave a speech to a crowd of some 200,000 Germans at the Victory Column, located 1 mile west of the Brandenburg Gate.



At the time, some opinion polls indicated that a number of Germans would rather have Obama as their own chancellor instead of Angela Merkel.



Obama's speech in Berlin on July 24, 2008, was well received by the enthusiastic crowd. However, the next day some commentators wondered whether people had really understood the implications of what Obama had said. He mentioned the threat of terrorism and emphasized that "no one nation, no matter how large or powerful, can defeat such challenges alone," and he praised "Europe's role in our [America's] security and our future."



The portion of the speech that really got news analysts' attention was Obama's reference to Afghanistan: "In this new century, Americans and Europeans alike will be required to do more—not less. Partnership and cooperation among nations is not a choice; it is the one way, the only way, to protect our common security...



"The Afghan people need our troops and your troops; our support and your support to defeat the Taliban and al Qaeda, to develop their economy, and to help them rebuild their nation."



With his speech in Berlin, Obama had served notice that as president he would expect Germans—and America's other NATO partners—to contribute their fair share of the resources needed for NATO's mission in Afghanistan.



An increasingly unpopular war

America's NATO allies in Europe are confronted by the challenge of meeting their obligations to the alliance's mission in Afghanistan in the face of growing public discontent over the war.



Germany is no exception. According to public opinion polls, two thirds of the German people doubt that a military victory can be achieved in Afghanistan. The same percentage of Germans oppose a continuation of their country's military presence in Afghanistan.



When German troops were first sent to Afghanistan, the German government insisted that they be stationed in northern Afghanistan instead of the southern part of the country. Officials emphasized repeatedly that Germany's NATO troops were limited to the official NATO mission in Afghanistan, described as assisting "the Afghan Government in exercising and extending its authority and influence across the country, paving the way for reconstruction and effective governance" (quote from the NATO Web site).



By contrast, American troops in southern Afghanistan were also fighting terrorism by going after the Taliban.



In their early deployment to northern Afghanistan, German troops experienced only occasional direct resistance by Taliban fighters. In recent months, however, the number of German casualties has increased as the Taliban have begun to target German patrols. It seems as if the Taliban are now engaging America's NATO allies, like the Germans, in an attempt to influence public opinion back home.



If so, their tactic is working. Public outrage in Germany was intense during the first week of September after a German NATO commander called for American air support to recapture two hijacked fuel trucks.



The air strike reportedly killed as many as 70 civilians and prompted Afghan President Hamid Karzai to issue harsh criticism of the German commander: "What an error of judgment! More than 90 dead all because of a simple lorry that was, moreover, immobilised in a riverbed. Why didn't they send in ground troops to recover the fuel tank?" ("Rift Widens Between US and Germany Over Botched Afghanistan Air Strike," The Guardian, Sept. 7, 2009).



Aside from the backlash from incidents like this one, German participation in NATO missions outside the geographic boundaries of NATO member countries is a continual domestic challenge. Each military deployment requires the approval of the German parliament, the Bundestag, and approval has to be renewed at regular intervals.



Despite growing public opposition to the war in Afghanistan, it has not yet become a major political issue, largely because Germany's membership in the NATO alliance is supported by all major parties. However, an increase in German casualties will no doubt lead to greater public clamor for an end to Germany's involvement in Afghanistan. As the Vietnam War proved, public opinion can be a key factor in deciding whether to continue or curtail military deployment.



Other European countries involved in Afghanistan are also facing domestic pressure to withdraw. Just days after the botched air strike on the fuel trucks, Britain, France and Germany proposed a conference to discuss how the Afghan government could take on greater responsibility for its own security, thereby lessening the need for NATO troops in the country.



Who's the bad guy now?

When the NATO alliance was formed 60 years ago by the United States, Canada and European nations, it was clearly defensive in nature. NATO countries were obligated to support any member nation attacked by an aggressor. The potential aggressor was clearly the Soviet Union, and the alliance's purpose was to prevent westward expansion of the Soviet sphere of influence in Europe.



Of course, during the Cold War there was occasional friction among NATO members or between the United States and European NATO countries. However, the overriding goal of preserving Western Europe's freedom and economic system provided a common interest strong enough to override temporary differences of opinion.



The demise of the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact alliance has changed all that. Europe is no longer threatened by an ideological "continental divide." Former Warsaw Pact countries have now joined the NATO alliance (and the European Union).



The defensive nature of the NATO alliance still exists on paper but not in practical application. Instead, the alliance has also assumed responsibility beyond its own borders in fulfilling United Nations peacekeeping missions.



Events of the last 10 years have shown that America and Europe—and even European nations among themselves—are not always unified in their assessment of strategic threats.



A prime example is former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's characterization of the "old" and "new" Europe during the crisis over Iraq and the Iraq war. Aside from some exceptions—most notably Britain—Western European nations ("old" Europe) were reluctant to support U.S. President George Bush's "coalition of the willing," in contrast to Eastern European nations ("new" Europe).



More recently, European NATO members disagree over how to deal with Russia. Dependent on natural gas deliveries from Russia, NATO members in Western Europe generally support a cautious, conciliatory approach. By contrast, Eastern European NATO members prefer a more confrontational style.



It was no surprise when Eastern European NATO members supported the Bush plan to install a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic. In the summer of 2008 the United States signed a treaty with each country for the installation of a radar system in the Czech Republic and 10 missile silos in Poland.



President Obama's decision in September to stop the implementation of the project upset Eastern European allies. Their disappointment was best expressed by former Polish President Lech Walesa in a television interview: "The Americans are always concerned only about their own interests and just take advantage of everyone else."



Walesa urged Poland to reassess its relationship with the United States. Analysts now expect Eastern Europeans to see the need for better cooperation with Brussels on security issues. President Obama may have contributed to "new" and "old" Europe becoming more closely aligned.



Who pays the bill?

During the 1999 NATO bombing campaign to force Serbian troops out of Kosovo, then German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder voiced disappointment over America's reluctance to share spy satellite intelligence with its European allies. In his frustration Schroeder suggested that Europe should have its own spy satellites. He admitted, though, that America could do as it pleased since it was supplying over 90 percent of the equipment used for the Kosovo military intervention.



America's call for more equitable burden-sharing within the NATO alliance did not begin with Senator Obama's July 2008 speech in Berlin. With the Soviet threat gone, the unfulfilled desire to have Europe pay a larger share of its defense bill seems more futile now than at any time during the last 60 years when Europe enjoyed protection via America's nuclear shield.



Defense spending levels of NATO's main European members have declined in recent years, with a corresponding weakening of military capabilities. Germany, for example, today has 40 percent fewer soldiers and 50 percent fewer combat aircraft than it did at the end of the Cold War 20 years ago. Similar developments have taken place in key NATO nations like Spain and Italy.



The decay of European NATO military forces has reached the point that U.S. military officials are concerned that joint operations are becoming difficult and may well become impossible if the trend is not reversed.



Like the Kosovo intervention, the war in Afghanistan reflects unequal burden sharing, irritating even some European officials. In a speech last January, British Defense Secretary John Hutton had harsh criticism for European governments that fail to bear their fair share of the burden.



"Freeloading on the back of U.S. security is not an option if we wish to be equal partners in the transatlantic alliance," he warned in language less diplomatic than Obama's Berlin speech. "Anyone who wants to benefit from collective security must be prepared to share the ultimate price."



Hutton also appeared to question Germany's approach and that of other allies who believe that humanitarian and nation-building tasks are a fair substitute for combat duty. "It isn't good enough to always look to the U.S. for political, financial, and military cover. And this imbalance will not be addressed by parceling up NATO tasks—the 'hard' military ones for the U.S. and a few others (including Britain) and the 'soft' diplomatic ones for the majority of Europeans."



European NATO members would respond by saying that NATO's ISAF mission in Afghanistan is nation-building, not combat in support of Washington's "war on terror."



The beginning of the end?

American military commanders believe that the coming months will be crucial for the ultimate success or failure of the NATO mission in Afghanistan, which for them means a military victory over the resurgent Taliban. Likewise, the NATO mission in Afghanistan itself may well decide the future of the alliance itself.



If NATO cracks over Afghanistan, a short-sighted view would be that Europeans got tired of being pressured to do more fighting in America's war far from Europe and that America got tired of paying the lion's share of NATO's bills for European freeloaders. However, America did put up with the unequal burden-sharing within NATO during the Cold War because it was in America's own strategic interest to do so.



A realistic assessment would be that NATO is no longer a serious alliance with an overriding common strategic purpose as it was throughout the Cold War. Defending Western Europe against Soviet expansion served America's strategic purpose, and supporting America's efforts to do so was obviously in Europe's own best interests.



In the absence of a sustained response to an ongoing, common, immediate threat, NATO has become an alliance without a real purpose. Europe's strategic interests are no longer as closely aligned with those of the United States, as evidenced by the Iraq war, relations with Russia, and energy and environmental policies, to name just a few. History shows that the eventual demise of an alliance that has served its purpose can only be a question of time.



If Bible prophecy is our guide to understanding world events, the rift already evident within the NATO alliance can be viewed as a precursor to future events. Europe and the United States will eventually move in opposing strategic directions and become competitors instead of equal partners.



Out of Europe will arise a final resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire, whereas America's destiny—and her future relationship with Europe—will be determined by her unknown heritage linked to the biblical patriarch Abraham.



Want to know more? Order or download our free booklets The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy and You Can Understand Bible Prophecy. They will provide you with valuable insights concerning the future of Europe and the United States. WNP

How Real Is the Threat From a Cyber Attack?

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How Real Is the Threat From a Cyber Attack?


Dear World News and Prophecy Subscriber,



The U.S. government is ramping up plans to protect the nation's critical electrical grid and other infrastructure from cyber attack by a foreign power. Plans call for the National Security Agency to install computer monitoring at key points that would alert authorities to attempts to hack into the grid in attempts to bring down the country's electrical service.



Part of the plan raises issues of invasion of privacy. The government wants to plug the holes of knowledge about attempts to bring down the system. The Wall Street Journal quotes an e-mail saying, "The overall purpose of the [program] is our Government...feel[s] that they need to insure the Public Sector is doing all they can to secure Infrastructure critical to our National Security." The article goes on to say, "U.S. intelligence officials have grown increasingly alarmed about what they believe to be Chinese and Russian surveillance of computer systems that control the electric grid and other U.S. infrastructure" ("U.S. Plans Cyber Shield for Utilities, Companies," July 6, 2010).



While authorities have long known of foreign attempts to hack into our systems with the potential of bringing down all or part of the electrical grid, this is but one threat that could cripple the nation's ability to function in the modern world. Another threat comes from the explosion of low-yield nuclear weapons in the atmosphere over the nation, setting off an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that would destroy all electronic circuitry, in everything.



Such a blast may not kill many people, but could render all forms of modern transportation inoperative. The complex computer circuitry would be "fried." Planes would fall from the sky. All ground transportation would stop in its tracks. Hospitals, nursing homes and everything around them would go dark. Refrigeration would fail, and the food and medicines requiring such storage would rapidly spoil. In effect the nation would instantly, in one second, revert to the early 1800s in lifestyle. The fabric of society would come apart. We covered such a real possibility in an earlier WNP article (http://www.wnponline.org/wnp/wnp0507/warning.htm ).



North Korea is one nation that has a missile with the capability of reaching the United States with such a weapon. Or such a bomb could be delivered from freighters in the Gulf of Mexico or off the Atlantic coast.



This news caught my attention because I am reading a novel, One Second After by William R. Forstchen, which sets up just such an attack on the United States. The work of fiction is set in the mountains of North Carolina. It tells the grim story of what could happen to people who are ill prepared for having every vestige of modernity stripped away in an instant. It is so doubly scary because it could happen. Our leaders know it could happen and that we are not prepared for the aftermath. America's enemies have plans for such an attack. It is a matter of public record.



Here is how the author describes how quickly society could break down. "The web of our society, John thought, was like the beautiful spider webs he'd find as a boy in the back lot after dawn on summer days, dew making them visible. Vast, beautiful intricate things. And at the single touch of a match the web collapsed and all that was left for the spider to do, if it survived that day, was to rebuild the web entirely from scratch. And our enemies knew that and planned for it…and succeeded" (p. 260).



It is a very sobering story of an event that could happen to the United States. America's enemies have not stopped their efforts to build and deliver weapons that would destroy the power of the nation. Large and small nations who desire to replace the world's sole superpower are working night and day to accomplish their ends. It is a very dangerous world we live in.



Where does our true security lie? Ultimately it is with God. There are many things we can and should do to mitigate the effects of such an attack. But in the end it will take reliance on God to see us through any such catastrophe. Psalm 91 is a powerful message of God's ability to deliver us from calamity. Put your trust in Him while keeping yourself informed of world events.



Keep watching!





Darris McNeely

Managing editor

World News & Prophecy

Multiculturalism Under Attack

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Multiculturalism Under Attack


A recent controversial speech by British Prime Minister David Cameron follows similar speeches from other Western leaders calling for a rethink on the concept of multiculturalism.

by Melvin Rhodes

The famous actress was sitting on the couch reviewing the morning newspapers along with the host of the morning news program and another person. The review soon came around to a discussion of Prime Minister David Cameron's attack on multiculturalism. The actress commented that this attacked the very core of British culture! Really? Growing up in England in the 1950s and '60s, I never even heard the word "multiculturalism." Its usage began in Canada during the premiership of Pierre Trudeau in the '70s and '80s and has since spread to other Western nations. It is hardly the historic core of British values!



A number of world leaders have in recent months come out against multiculturalism. Not only Britain's prime minister Cameron, but also Germany's chancellor Angela Merkel, Australia's former prime minister John Howard, Spain's former premier Jose Maria Aznar and France's president Nicolas Sarkozy have expressed concerns about integrating immigrants through multiculturalist policies (Agence France-Presse, Feb. 10, 2011).



Multiculturalism is the advocacy in Western nations of embracing all the new cultures that have moved into Western countries in recent decades. It is not the policy in most countries around the world, where preserving national identity is valued more highly.



What was the context of the British prime minister's remarks, and why did they get so much attention?



Attempting to overcome nationalism

It should first be noted that he gave his Feb. 5, 2011, speech in Munich, Germany, in the presence of the German chancellor. No speech given there has received so much media attention since Neville Chamberlain's visit to Hitler to try to achieve "peace in our time." That was more than 70 years ago, and Europe is now a very different place. Just as Chamberlain's speech was of great historic significance, so Cameron's may also turn out to be a turning point in British and European history.



In 1938, Europe was made up of many nations, each one with its own separate cultural and ethnic identity. A major problem for Europe involved overlaps—minority ethnic groups living within a different majority ethnic nation. This included Germans in both Czechoslovakia and Poland, providing Hitler with an excuse to invade these countries and plunge Europe into war. And the Holocaust perpetrated against the Jews, a long-established minority in many countries, was the most disturbing example of ethnic cleansing in history.



After two world wars devastated Europe, there was a widespread desire to minimize ethnic conflict—and this has, at length, led to the European Union. The desire to form "an ever closer union" of European nations is a direct consequence of Europe's nationalistic conflicts. The EU is intended to surmount all of this—to unite the various European countries in a supranational federal system.



Yet the European ethnic landscape has become even more diverse. As a result of the massive loss of life in World War II, European countries—their populations sorely diminished—needed labor, and immigrants were welcomed. Most of these came from colonies the European nations had ruled. And as the colonies gained independence, they in many cases experienced national economic decline while their populations nevertheless rose dramatically due to improved medical care. The result has been a surplus of people, many of whom have moved to Europe.



It was naively expected that somehow the immigrants would all become Englishmen, Frenchmen or Germans, integrating successfully in these respective nations. But the reality is that many have desired to preserve their cultural identity, which has led to considerable friction and a great deal of fear.



Americans like to think that assimilation has been more successful in the United States—a supposed "melting pot." But interestingly, on the same breakfast television program in the United Kingdom, a British man of African descent who had lived in the United States said exactly the opposite—that assimilation has worked better in Britain than in America.



As recent news reports of homegrown terror cells in the United States show, no country can boast of success when it comes to assimilation. It may have worked a century ago when most immigrants came from Europe, but it has not been so successful in Western countries since doors opened to immigration from developing nations.



The failure of assimilation led to the promotion of multiculturalism. The objective was that ethnicities would dwell among one another while remaining culturally distinct through maintaining their various traditions, customs and ways of thinking. This concept has been promoted in mass media right across the cultural spectrum—from Sesame Street to MTV! Yet it's led not to societal union but to fragmentation.



"Multiculturalism has failed"

Douglas Murray, director of the Center for Social Cohesion in London, wrote this of Cameron's speech in an article published in The Wall Street Journal: "‘Multiculturalism has failed,' said British Prime Minister David Cameron last weekend in Munich. If anybody thought they had read these words before, it is because they have. Many times. Last October German Chancellor Angela Merkel (sitting onstage with Mr. Cameron when he gave his speech on Saturday) said the same. Finally Europe's mainstream party leaders seem to be realizing what others have long noticed: Multiculturalism has been the most pernicious and divisive policy pursued by Western governments since World War II" ("Cameron's Multicultural Wake-Up Call," Feb. 9, 2011).



The same Wall Street Journal issue also editorialized in support of what Cameron said: "David Cameron gave a bracing speech about multiculturalism on Saturday, notable as much for the venue as his argument. The annual Munich Security Conference typically devotes itself to foreign policy and defense. By denouncing multiculturalism at the conference, Mr. Cameron put the subject at the center of the West's security agenda. Past time, too. The U.S., Canada and the EU are waking up to the realization that terrorism isn't simply a phenomenon that arrives from abroad . . . While undemocratic regimes may explain extremism in Egypt, they don't explain why there are ‘so many extremists in free and open societies' like the U.K." ("David Cameron's Warning," Feb. 9, 2011).



An opinion piece about the speech by American syndicated columnist Cal Thomas was published in the Lansing State Journal under the headline and drophead: "Assimilation a must for immigrants: U.S. should learn lesson from flawed British plan" (Feb. 11, 2011). The article, titled "Told You So" at Townhall.com, begins with this observation: "One of liberalism's many problems is that once an idea or program is proved wrong and unworkable, liberals rarely acknowledge their mistake and examine the root cause of their error so they don't repeat it. Take multiculturalism . . . please!"



Besides reporting on Cameron declaring state multiculturalism a failure, Thomas further wrote: "For good measure, Cameron said Britain must also get tougher on Islamic extremists. A genuinely liberal country, he said, ‘believes in certain values and actively promotes them . . . Freedom of speech. Freedom of worship. Democracy. The rule of law, equal rights, regardless of race, sex or sexuality."



Thomas' most astute observation was in contradiction to the speech. He wrote: "Cameron said in Britain different cultures have been encouraged to live separate lives: ‘We have failed to provide a vision of society to which they feel they want to belong.' Here I would take issue with an otherwise excellent speech. It isn't that Britain has failed to provide such a society. Rather, many of those coming to Britain (and increasingly France, Germany and the U.S.) don't want to become a part of those cultures, which they regard as corrupt and anti-God."



The jumbling together of ethnic and religious groups has been a largely post–World War II phenomenon in Western countries. This is in spite of the evidence that such mixing without cultural assimilation is problematic in many parts of the world.



Take the historic conflict between Muslims and Hindus in India that led to partition in 1947; or the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has been the cause of frequent wars in the Middle East; or the frequent tribal conflicts in Africa; or the unceasing ethnic conflicts in the Balkans, which triggered the First World War, contributed to the Second and exploded again in the 1990s. Given these, one might ask why the West thought that somehow the end result of mingling different ethnic and religious groups would turn out to be different!



Some biblical perspective

There's an interesting verse in the New Testament of your Bible that stands in direct contradiction to the multicultural idea. While "God shows no partiality" (Acts 10:34), we read in the same book that "He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings" (Acts 17:26).



It is also interesting to note that Jesus Christ, when asked, "What will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?" (Matthew 24:3), warned that "nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom" (verse 7). A kingdom is a political entity. But the word "nation" here is translated from the Greek word ethnos, from which we get the words ethnic and ethnicity. In other words, Jesus was saying that immediately prior to His coming to establish God's Kingdom on this earth, there would be a time of great ethnic conflict—the inevitable result of mingling diverse people groups together.



David Cameron's warning, along with the earlier warning from Angela Merkel, shows a growing concern about the inevitability of conflict in Western countries—conflict that will endanger the very unity and stability of Western nations.



Thankfully, true harmony between peoples is possible through the One who gave His life for us all. Rather than maintaining our old ways, we need to develop Jesus Christ's ways of thinking and living.



Ephesians 2:14-17 said this of Christ in relation to the division between Jews and gentiles: "For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity… so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near."



When all people finally understand God's truth and humble themselves through Christ, they can at last come together as one in genuine and lasting peace and harmony. WNP

No More Libyas

From http://el-paso.ucg.org/  or call 1-888-886-8632.



No More Libyas


A commentary by Robin Webber

United Church of God pastor
Many of us have been watching the unfolding events in North Africa and the Middle East with amazement. Historically and culturally it is extremely significant. It is similar to the revolutionary movements of Latin America in the early 1800s, Europe in 1848 and the collapse of the Soviet Union just a couple of decades ago. History teaches us that even seemingly impregnable walls of fear and oppression can be brought down by an angry populace. It has been exhilarating and heartbreaking all in the same moment: Exhilarating to see people in the street seeking liberty from oppression and heartbreaking to see people mowed down with guns fired by their own countrymen. Many religious commentators and pundits are already pondering what this historic sweep of events portends for prophetic events.



The rule of tyrants

Let us now bring it down to a more personal note in our everyday lives. I say this, because I have been moved over the last couple of days by the brutal smashing of the forces of freedom by the villainous Muammar Gadhafi. He has not only been implicated in decades of terrorism against people from abroad, but has now turned his jets and tanks on his own people. This has been done in an attempt to push them back into the atmosphere of oppression from which they are trying to break free.



As of today, it looks like he has the upper hand in putting down this revolution. Terror, evil and bullying seem to have once again ruled the day in Libya, unlike neighboring results. This act of repression is about to be completed while the world dithers back and forth about whether to implement a possible no-fly zone as a part of a solution to aid the oppressed.



The world in spiritual oppression

I could not help but consider the powerful analogy to a greater spiritual despot who desires to stamp out any possible spiritual freedom that God offers humanity. The Bible speaks of Satan the devil as the "god of this age "(2 Corinthians 4:4). His influence is everywhere as he tries to extend his tentacles to every nook and cranny of our hearts and minds. Revelation 12:9 indicates his tactics are effective, because it says, "he deceives the whole world." Amazingly, he is hoodwinking the great majority of humanity in to thinking his oppressiveness is actually giving them more liberty.



But make no mistake regarding his intentions. His gloves come off and his fangs are fully exposed when it comes to those who dare to stand up to him and apart from his dominating society. Revelation 12 offers a broad panorama of the battle between the saints of the God the heaven versus the "god of this age" for the last 2,000 years. It is a war that is only going to intensify in the years to come. Revelation 12:17 speaks of Satan's end time rage towards followers of Jesus Christ when it says, "The dragon was enraged with the woman [the Church], and he went to make war with rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."



Jesus Christ to conquer tyranny

But the parallel between what is happening right now, here below, and the future takes a differently dramatic turn. The Son of God is not going to impose some halfway measure of a no-fly zone, but is going to orchestrate something radically different. Jesus Christ is going to impose lasting solutions towards peace, freedom and every human being living up their incredible human potential.



Revelation 19:11-14 describes an incredible intervention that is yet to occur: "Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine line, white and clean followed Him on white horses." This is speaking of not only one country being occupied by the saving forces of God Almighty, but the overthrow of all evil despots. The Book of Revelation speaks of not only the overthrow of this diabolical spiritual regime, but the actual capture and removal of its tyrannically insane head—Satan (Revelation 20:2).



A time is coming of no more despots—neither physical nor spiritual–and a time in which there will be no more tyranny as we are witnessing in Libya today.



If you would like to know more about what your future holds, please read our booklets, The Book of Revelation Unveiled and Is There Really a Devil?

Can Prophecies Fail?

From http://el-paso.ucg.org/  or call 1-888-886-8632


Can Prophecies Fail?


A commentary by Mike Bennett

UCG editorial content manager

The Bible is filled with prophecy, and much of it is for the end time. Many Christians look into the prophecies of the Bible, and especially the books of Daniel and Revelation, trying to figure out exactly what will occur next on the world scene and when.



To better understand prophecy, and especially to understand whether prophecies can fail, we first must understand why God gives prophecies.



Why prophecies of punishment?

What is God's purpose in prophecy? Is He eager to exact punishment?



"'Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,' says the Lord God. 'Therefore turn and live!'" (Ezekiel 18:30-32).



Prophecies that seem to fail

Fulfilled prophecy is a proof of God and the Bible, and the Bible warns about false prophets. Strangely, though, God is not upset when one of His prophecies doesn't come about exactly as He first stated it. In fact, God gives us an example of a prophet who was upset when his prophecy seemed to fail. God tried to help him see the bigger picture.



When Jonah finally went to Nineveh—a brutal enemy of Jonah's people—he reluctantly warned them, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" (Jonah 3:4).



Then an all-too-rare event occurred. The pagan people of Nineveh believed the God of Israel. The king proclaimed, "But let every man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?" (Jonah 3:8-9).



"God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it" (Jonah 3:10). This displeased Jonah, but not God. God wanted Jonah—and us—to see things as He sees them. Many prophecies are conditional—God wants us to repent so He can relent of the prophesied punishment.



What did Paul mean, "Whether there are prophecies, they will fail"?

In the famous "Love chapter" the apostle Paul wrote: "Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away" (1 Corinthians 13:8-10).



The main point here is that love is eternal and that prophecies and other gifts are only temporary. Even those prophecies that do come to pass are temporary, because once they come to pass, they become history. However, showing love and exercising vigilance ("watching" ourselves) can result in eternal benefits and protection from the tragic events at the end of the age (Luke 21:36).



The word fail can be misunderstood in this passage. The word fail has a narrower meaning now than it did when the King James Version was written, and unfortunately the New King James Version retained that reading. A better modern translation is, "Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end" (1 Corinthians 13:8, New Revised Standard Version).



Also, when considering whether prophecies fail, it's important to note that there is a big difference between the actual prophecies given in the Bible and the human interpretations and predictions that are based on applying those prophecies to world events. God's Word is sure, but we must not think that our specific interpretation is the only way a prophecy can be fulfilled. Far too many students of prophecy have fallen into that trap.



Good news: prophecies that will come to pass

When we point out sins and the prophesied punishment they will bring, we pray and hope these prophecies won't have to come to pass. But we know the overall framework of prophecy will come to pass. And that is good news! The end of all the prophecies tells of Jesus Christ's return and the establishment of the peaceful and prosperous Kingdom of God.



Read more about the wonderful world beyond today's troubles in the last couple of chapters of our booklet You Can Understand Bible Prophecy: "The Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ" and "Beyond the Millennium." You need this encouraging good news!

Who Will Bring Lasting Peace to the Middle East?

From http://el-paso.ucg.org/  or call 1-888-886-8632.


Who Will Bring Lasting Peace to the Middle East?


A commentary by Randy D'Alessandro

United Church of God pastor, Ann Arbor and Detroit, Michigan
The situation that now grips the Middle East is an all-too-familiar one. State-imposed human rights suppression in the region has led many people to call for freedom from their current regimes.



In just this past week:



In Yemen tens of thousands of people rally to bring down President Ali Abdullah Saleh.



In Jordan the Muslim Brotherhood vowed to renew protests, stating that the government has not made changes quickly enough.



In Bahrain tens of thousands of people staged a demonstration three miles long calling for the end of the current regime.



In Egypt, for decades under Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's Islamists of all shades were disenfranchised, thrown in jail or targeted in crackdown after crackdown. Now their tormentor of some 30 years is gone, and they are rushing to claim a spot in the country's new political landscape.



In Libya, Muammar Gadhafi vowed to continue fighting until he dies a martyr, as residents of the country and world leaders accuse him of killing his own people.



In Tunisia, the embattled prime minister, Mohamed Ghannouchi, announced his resignation, bowing to a key demand of protesters after at least five people died in a groundswell of new unrest in that North African country.



All of this and we haven't even mentioned the decades-long struggle between Israel and her Arab neighbors! Peace is desperately wanted in this region of the world, but as desperately as it is wanted and needed, it is elusive. Is there ever going to be peace in the Middle East? If so, how will it come?



A forecast of peace

There is one news source that boldly declares that peace is coming to the Middle East. This news source has a track record unlike any other—there has never been an account or story that has proven to be factually incorrect. There has never been a forecast made that has not come to pass. This source not only declares that peace will come to the Middle East, but that this peace will engulf the entire world!



What is this news source? It is the most published volume in the history of mankind. It is a work that has been translated into virtually every tongue on planet earth and is a perennial best seller.



The source we are referring to is the Bible!



Lasting peace in the Middle East

Christians, Jews and Muslims all look for—in different ways—a Messiah. The book of Revelation describes the Messiah coming as the Power Broker who is poised to bring lasting peace to the Middle East. We know Him as Jesus Christ!



"Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war…



"And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS" (Revelation 19:11, 14-16).



Finally, after millennia of animosity and bloodshed, there will be peace in the Middle East, and that peace will extend to the rest of the world as well. Jesus Christ will establish His government on earth with Jerusalem as its capital.



"Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it. Many nations shall come and say, 'Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.' For out of Zion the law shall go forth, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem" (Micah 4:1-2).



Please download or request our free booklet The Middle East in Bible Prophecy. This booklet will take you, step by step, through the many prophecies that culminate in the return of Jesus Christ to bring peace to the Middle East and the whole world.