IMPORTANT ITEMS IN THIS ISSUE (MA#2 – JULY 1999)

 

BRITAIN and the "EUROPE OF THE REGIONS"

BRUSSELS WANTS TO CONTROL ECONOMIES

BRITAIN TO SELL 58% OF GOLD RESERVES

A EUROPEAN ARMY

THE EMERGING EUROPEAN CONFEDERATION?

THE BEAST OF REVELATION

ETHNIC TENSION, ETHNIC CLEANSING

GM FOOD FEARS

 

 

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                BRITAIN and the "EUROPE OF THE REGIONS"

Most British seem to be unaware of the fait accompli which has been carried out behind their backs. On April 1^st, the Daily Mail presented an article concerning Europe's regional plan for Britain. The headlines and article read:

APRIL 1, 99. “Today, Europe's bureaucrats launch a master-plan to destroy the United Kingdom. Soon there may no longer be a 'British' people left to care!”

Today, as the eyes of the world are on Kosovo, little attention will be given to a major political earthquake taking place right here in Britain. A few yawn-inducing headlines in local papers might announce that this is the day when England's eight new 'regional development agencies' start work. What few will realize is how this is the final move in the piercing together of one of the most ambitious political projects of our time, designed to change the United Kingdom so dramatically that it will soon be scarcely recognizable.

The master plan is to carve up the UK into 12 administrative regions - including Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - to bring Britain into line with the EU's vision of 'Europe of the Regions.'

It adds up to a constitutional revolution as far-reaching as any in our history. The astonishing thing is that this vast project has been put into place so secretively that almost no one has noticed what is happening.

Remarkably, the only senior politician to have sounded alarm bells is Europhile, Michael Heseltine, who, in an unreported outburst to a meeting at last year's Tory conference, challenged Tony Blair 'to tell the British people the truth.'

There were 'two European agendas,' he warned. The first, centred on 'the nation state,' was the one he supported. But he deplored the other one. He went on ... 'the agenda of the regions, which says that Brussels will dispose of money to the regions of Europe and ultimately bypass national governments.

'Urged on by the federalists in Brussels, the aim of this agenda was nothing less than 'the destruction of the United Kingdom,' Mr Heseltine said.

Such are the plans which come into effect today, adding a final piece to a jigsaw which has been taking shape since the Blair government came to power in May 17, 1997, through six separate Acts of Parliament.

Everyone knows of the Acts setting up the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland assemblies, and the fourth giving London its own mayor, creating the nucleus of a 'regional office' for Britain's capital. But scarcely noticed was a fifth Act, dividing the rest of England into eight regions, each with its own regional agency and 'chamber' or assembly.

The last, underscoring the rest, was the Act which, for the purposes of June's elections to the European Parliament, divides the UK into 12 giant new 'regional constituencies,' corresponding exactly to the 12 regions which are now to have their own assemblies.

The thinking behind this vision is that, as a future United States of Europe takes shape, its member states will share a common political structure, modeled on the existing federal structure of various EU countries such as Germany. The EU's 111 regions will each have its own government relating directly to Brussels.

Coordinating this process from Brussels is the Committee of the Regions, whose German president, Professor Manfred Dammeyer, last year spelt out the vision behind it.

"At the close of the 20th century,' he said, 'the concept of the nation and the state are fading away.' As 'people's traditional national identities and loyalties are losing their mean­ing, the nation state is increasingly losing its ability to guarantee the foundations of its own legitimacy. 'The new order in the making is only just emerging in the shad­ows ... We need to pursue the process of European integration,' which means 'strengthening the regions.”   - Daily Mail /1 Ap 99

This gives us some idea of the United States of Europe that is envisioned. But many in Britain are not willing for a full surrender of national sovereignty to Brussels. They are also opposed to abolishing the pound in favour of the euro. But it only stands to reason, a U.S.E. would have a single currency.

Prime Minister Tony Blair says that "when conditions are right," the Labour government will put the question of Britain's joining the euro to a national referendum. In the meantime the European Union continues to grow.

The 5th EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ELECTIONS

were held in June. Prior to the elections, all households in U.K. were supplied with a brochure explaining the voting system. It included a map of the 12 regions of U.K. (see our front cover).

Throughout Britain, as in most of the EU, there was a general apathy towards the elections, and the voter turnout was below 20% in some places. The British vote, however, expressed a strong "No!" to Labor's eagerness to abolish the pound in favour of the uncertain euro.

BLAIR BACKS SOCIALIST EUROPE

The Labour manifesto for the European elections called for closer co-operation over economic policy, employment policy and defence, and suggests more majority voting in EU decision-making. It strongly supports the single currency (the euro) which it says should make a significant contribution to promoting sus­tainable growth, low inflation and high levels of employment.

The advent of the euro, it says, has increased the need for closer policy co-ordination on taxation to prevent harmful competition "in the form of unfair tax breaks and hidden subsidies."

There is an explicit commitment to bolstering the idea of European citizenship and "European identity."

The document says: "In order to develop a stronger European identity, we propose that the fundamental civic, economic, social and cultural rights which have been won by citizens throughout the EU, including access to public services, should be set in a European charter of rights."

Calling for closer co-operation on defence, it says that this will enhance "Europe's capacity to prevent conflicts and respond to crises.

The Tory Conservative Party leader, William Hague, campaigned with a Euro-sceptic manifesto, entitled, In Europe, not run by Europe. It pledged to oppose joining the euro at the next general election, and for the lifetime of the next Parliament.   - The Daily Telegraph (UK) / 19 May 99

 

"POOLED  SOVEREIGNTY"

Tony Blair was attacked by Tories in mid-June when he said that Britain would eventually "pool its national sovereignty" with other member states of the European Union.

The Prime Minister stressed that such further integration could be in the "national interests, in the interests of our jobs and our industry and our investment. In the modern world, as we move closer together, there will be a pooling of national sovereignty," he said.

Blair warned William Hague that it would be a mistake to leave Britain at the margins of Europe. "When over 50% of our trade is with Europe, when there are millions of British jobs that de­pend on Europe, then leaving Europe, which is what a large part of your party now want to do, or going so far to the margins of influence that we have no strength or power in Europe, is a mistake. I will not follow you down that path."   - The Independent / UK. / 17 June 99

 

BRUSSELS WANTS TO CONTROL ECONOMIES

According to the Daily Mail, a radical blueprint published on May 11, could hand control of the economies of the 15 European Union nations, to Brussels.

The document, according to the Daily Mail, outlines plans to dictate policy to the "independent" European Central Bank, set wage norms, impose common taxes and cut working hours.

It demands a swing towards the central co-ordination of 'monetary, wage, fiscal and tax policy' across the EU in order to 'firmly re-establish the goal of full employment' and get Europe's 16 million unemployed back to work. Entitled, "A New European Employment Pact - For A New European Way," the blueprint also wants firms to be forced to adopt positive discrimination on the grounds of race and sex.

The document reveals the pressure that is building up on EU nations, encouraged by France and Germany, to give control of their economies to centralized European bodies.  - Daily Mail / UK / 11 May 99

 

BRITAIN TO SELL 58% OF GOLD RESERVES

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, was accused in May of trying to take Britain into the European single cur­rency by stealth, after his surprise announcement that he was selling more than half of the country's gold reserves, leaving Britain with the lowest bullion holdings of any major country.

The £4 billion of gold reserves - 415 tonnes - will be converted into euros, dollars and yen over the next few years. The sale will see the proportion of reserves held in gold falling from 17 % to 7 %.

The Chancellor's announcement triggered a fall in the price of gold and provoked Tories and Euro-sceptic businessmen to claim the decision was politically motivated to prepare Britain's entry into the euro.

London greeted the news with dismay. Haruko Fukua, chief executive of the World Gold Council, said: "This is a political decision, in preparation for joining the euro. This move appears to be pre-empting the promised referendum. Gold has special characteristics. It has been held as a reserve for thousands of years. Its value does not rely on anybody else's promise to pay, unlike cash, and it builds public confidence."

After the sale, Britain will hold just 300 tonnes of bullion - a minimal amount when compared with other major economies.  - The Daily Telegraph (UK) / 8 May 99

As Fukua implies, gold is true wealth, as opposed to paper currencies, or digital cash. The following Bible prophecy could be applied to Britain, as well as to all the nations involved in today's highly-inflated world economic order:

PROPHECY/ JAMES 5:1-3:

"Come now, you rich, weep and wail because of the miseries that are coming upon you. Your wealth has become rotten, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will testify against you and will consume your flesh like fire."

Gold and silver, as metals, do not corrode or rust. But our money systems that once were backed by gold, can. And they cer­tainly have been corroded, ever since the IMF introduced its new monetary system using SDR - Special Drawing Rights.

Gold and silver are a restraint on inflationary expansion of the money supply. Remove the metals, and our monetary system rests only on "confidence" - faith in the system!

Of great concern also in the UK are the proposals to build up . . .

 

A EUROPEAN ARMY

The Germans want the key components of a European Army to be in place in just 18 months, EU defence ministers were told on May 10.

A few days earlier, new commission president Romano Prodi said it would take "years and years" to set up such an army. But at the talks in Bremen, Germany's Rudolf Scarping gave a December 2000 deadline for the establishment of a rapid response infrastructure that will end dependence on the U.S.

The speed will alarm No 10 (the PM's office in London) which wants NATO at the cornerstone of European defence. But NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana said the EU could succeed only if members invested in their own defence capabilities.         - Daily Mail / 11 May 99

Here is one main difference that Britain has with Germany. But again, it only stands to reason that a United States of Europe would require its own military defence force.

What does the Bible say about  …

 

THE EMERGING EUROPEAN CONFEDERATION?

The Bible teaches that in the last days there will be a powerful European confederation of ten nations under the rulership of the Beast - Antichrist. Following are several extracts from prophecies in Daniel and Revelation. It is recommended that you read the whole of the four chapters; Daniel 2 & 7, and Revelation 13 & 17.

PROPHECY / DANIEL 2:31-34, 41-42, 44:

"You, O king, were look­ing and saw a great image. This image was enormous; it was stand­ing in front of you, and its appearance was extremely bright and awesome. This image - its head was made of fine gold; its chest and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay ...

“You continued looking until a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces ... As for the feet and toes which were partly of potters clay and partly of iron, this is a divided kingdom; it will have some of the strength of the iron in it, even as you saw the iron mixed with common clay ...

“And as for the toes of the feet which were partly of iron and partly of clay; some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be fragile. In the time of those kings, the God of the heavens will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed - a kingdom that will not be left to another people. It will crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure for ever."

PROPHECY / DANIEL 7:13-14:

"In the night visions, I kept looking, and then there was One like the Son of Man, coming in the clouds of heaven. He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. Then He was given authority, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed."

INTERPRETATION

In the first prophecy, the dream-image of the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, represents four great kingdoms.

The head of gold represents the King of Babylon.

The breast and arms of silver represent the Medo-Persians.

The belly and thighs of brass represent the Greek empire.

The legs of iron represents the Roman empire, which was divided under the Valens and Valentinians from AD 364.

The feet and ten toes of iron and clay represent the ten-kingdom Beast-confederation that will arise out of the Roman empire - in the last days.

The ancient Roman Empire fell apart in the 5th century, AD. But it is to be revived in these last days. I believe it is striving for rebirth at the present time.

 

The Stone in the dream refers to the Messiah who shall destroy all powers that are opposed to the "Ancient of Days" - Almighty God, and who will establish a glorious reign of righteousness over the whole earth.

In the second passage, Daniel 7, we read of 4 beasts (verses 3-7) - a lion with the wings of an eagle; a bear; a leopard with four wings; and beast with ten horns and large iron teeth.

These four beasts symbolize the ancient world empires of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome - the same four empires represented in the dream-image of chapter 2. The fourth beast also symbolizes the endtime European Confederation - a revived Roman empire.

PROPHECY / DANIEL 7:7-9, 23-25:

"There was a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had huge iron teeth ... and it had ten horns. I was thinking about the horns, and then, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots before it; and there and then, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.

"I kept looking until thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days was seated ... The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom that will appear on the earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms, and will devour the whole earth, treading it down and crushing it. As for the ten horns, they are ten kings who arise out of this kingdom. After them another king will arise. He will be different from the earlier ones; and he will subdue three kings. And he speaks out as an adversary of the Most High."

From out of the ten horns arises a LITTLE HORN - a man, a ruler who becomes great and subdues the other kings. He has great power of persuasion, but will prove to be extreme in his blasphemies. He will be anti-God, and more than any other in history, the Anti-Christ.

This evil man will receive worldwide acclaim, but finally he will be defeated by "the Stone," the Lord Jesus Christ, when He returns to earth in power and great glory. The fourth beast is the same Beast spoken of in Revelation 13 and 17 - a dictator who will rule the world in fierce power, for 3½  years.

 

THE BEAST OF REVELATION

PROPHECY / REVELATION 13:1-5:

"And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten crowns, and on his heads were blasphemous names ... And the dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast... and they worshipped the beast ... There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies."  - The apostle John

This Beast with seven heads and ten horns certainly sounds like the ten-horned beast of Daniel 7. Yes, indeed, the two beasts - of Daniel and Revelation - are related. But there is one difference - the Revelation beast has seven heads. This same Beast appears also in Revelation 17 where an added feature is a "woman" sitting on the Beast, and where an explanation of the seven heads is given. There's quite a riddle in these verses. I'll explain, but first read the passage:

PROPHECY/Rev 17:3-5, 7, 9-10, 12-13:

"I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and glittered with gold, precious stones and pearls; and in her hand she had a golden cup full of abominable, repulsive things and the filth of her immorality; and on her forehead there was in­scribed a name with a mysterious meaning, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINA­TIONS OF THE EARTH ... And the messenger said to me, 'Why do you wonder? I will tell you the meaning o/the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns ... Here is the mind that has wisdom:

"The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a king­dom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. They will have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast'."

The woman "Mystery Babylon" is symbolic of a false religious system that had its beginning in the original Babylon - the tower of Babel. It was a religion opposed to the truth of Yahweh, the Almighty God. She has been riding over the nations for more than 4,000 years, and she will be associated with the Beast Kingdom, and will be manifest as a world united religion in the endtimes.

The "seven heads" of the beast are two things, according to the passage above. Firstly they are seven mountains. These may be identified as the seven hills of Rome. Secondly, they are seven kings (empires) that have supported Mystery Babylon, the counterfeit religion, down through the centuries. The first six heads are the ancient empires, beginning with the first kingdom after the Great Flood. Notice the riddle says, five have fallen, one is, and one is to come. At the time John was writing the Revelation, five empires had already fallen; the existent empire was Rome, and the seventh empire was still future. So we can identify the "heads" as:

1     Assyria                           Fallen

2     Egypt                              Fallen

3     Babylon                          Fallen

4     Medo-Persia                  Fallen

5     Greece                            Fallen

6     Rome                              Existent in John's time.

7     Revived Roman             Will exist in the endtimes.

The revived Roman Empire will consist of 10 nations (the ten toes of Daniel 2, and the ten horns of Daniel 7), which surrender their national sovereignties to the Beast, so that he has full control over them. This 10-nation confederation then wages war and annihilates many as we see in yet another prophecy concerning the Antichrist. . .

PROPHECY / DANIEL 8:23-25:

"A king will arise, insolent and skilled in intrigue. He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will destroy to an extraordinary degree and prosper and perform his will. He will destroy mighty men, and also the holy people, and through his shrewdness, he will cause deceit to succeed under his hand; and he will magnify himself in his heart. He will destroy many while they feel secure and are at ease."

The tragedy is that the endtime Roman Empire, the kingdom of the Beast, will become a satanic, totalitarian world dictatorship - a demonic regime in which every person in the world will be compelled to worship the Beast - Antichrist. This is what the prophecy in Revelation 13 and 17 is all about.

TODAY we are witnessing the emergence of a united Western Europe - a European Union now consisting of 15 nations. And more European nations are negotiating entry.

This all began with the Treaty of Rome. In March 1957, six nations met in Rome, and signed the historic document which established the European Economic Community (commonly called the Common Market). It came into existence on 1st January 1958. In 1991, a second Treaty, called the Maastricht Treaty, was signed by the then twelve member nations. The Maastricht Treaty calls for a united banking system, and a united European Union.

 

THE FIRST 15 EU NATIONS AND THE YEAR OF THEIR ENTRY:

1958     ITALY,  FRANCE,  W. GERMANY,  BELGIUM,  HOLLAND,                             LUXEMBOURG.

1973              BRITAIN,  IRELAND,  DENMARK.

1980              GREECE.

1986              SPAIN,  PORTUGAL.

1995              SWEDEN,  AUSTRIA,  FINLAND.

(Postscript).  THE LATEST 12 NATIONS THAT HAVE ENTERED THE EU

2004             POLAND,  HUNGARY,  CZECH REPUBLIC,  SLOVAKIA, SLOVENIA,  LITHUANIA,  LATVIA,  ESTONIA,  MALTA  Greek CYPRUS

2007              BULGARIA,  ROMANIA

 

The Maastricht Treaty and its goals are provoking some internal battles, however. Britain is opposed to full integration, and is holding back on adopting the euro. And a subtle battle continues between Germany and France for hegemony -influence over the European political-economic space. The EU maintains a European Commission based at Brussels, and a European Parliament housed at Strasbourg. It has now removed border checkpoints between the 15, effectively making them one confederation. It now has a European Central Bank in Frankfurt, and has issued a new currency - "the euro."

Two of the 15 nations - Britain and France - are nuclear powers. And the united confederation is fast becoming the world's greatest trading block. But we can expect in the near future, an upheaval in Western Europe. For two reasons:

1.  Germany is listed in Ezekiel's prophecy (38:6) as an ally of Russia in the battle of Jerusalem - not as a part of the Roman Confederation. (Rosh is Russia, Gomer is Germany).

2.  There will be TEN European nations that make up the Antichrist's Roman Confederation (not 15 or more). So some nations will pull out of the EU because of internal crises. This is expected to happen early in the Tribulation after the Antichrist
has been revealed.

What Europe is now waiting for is a powerful Leader to weld the "European Ten" together. Dr Henri Spaack, an early planner of the European Common Market, and a Secretary-General of the NATO, said in one of his speeches; "We do not want another committee. What we want is a man of sufficient stature to hold the allegiance of all people, and to lift us out of the economic morass into which we are sinking. Send us such a man, and be he God or devil, we will receive him."

Tragically, according to Bible prophecy, the man the Roman Confederation embraces will be Satan's man - Antichrist. At first he will appear to be a man of peace who is brilliant in his handling of economic and political problems. He will even arbitrate a comprehensive peace treaty in the Middle East. This will bring him to power, but he will soon become ruthless, and finally he will be exposed as a Satan-possessed dictator. He is called in the Bible, the Beast, the Vile Person, the Man of Sin, and by many other names. He will rule the whole world for 3½ years, but he will be destroyed at the Second Coming of the Messiah.

“But the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who had performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had deceived the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image. These two were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulphur.” (Revelation 19:20)

 

 

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ETHNIC TENSION, ETHNIC CLEANSING

It is tragic that at a time when the world is shrinking, when cross-cultural communication is increasing, and when multi­racial integration is taking place in many nations, we see ethnic intolerance and violence seething all over the globe.

The Lord Jesus Christ was speaking about ethnic cleansing and wars when He said;

"Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against king­dom, and there will be famines."  (Matthew 24:7)

This prophecy comes from the Greek Gospel of Matthew, where the Greek word for "nation" is ethnos, from which our English word ethnic is derived. Jesus was saying ethnos will rise against ethnos. Although this word includes wars between nations, it very much includes the ethnic conflicts such as we have seen in the Balkans, in Indonesia, in Sri Lanka, in India, Burma, the Philippines, in Rwanda, Turkey, N. Ireland, Israel, Russia, in China, and in many other places.

But why all this ethnic hatred?

When you see the ethnic brutality, you exclaim, "It's wicked!" Yes, indeed it is! And the reasons for it are many - there's the historical background, the grievances, the discrimination, exploitation, hatred, politics, customs and religion, and so on.

But the basic cause, as you've just said, is wickedness. Man's heart is selfish, crooked and wicked.

Look at this diagnosis of man's heart, by the Almighty God who searches the innermost being of man.

"The heart is more crooked and deceitful than all else, and is desperately sick - incurable. Who can understand it? I, Yahweh, search the heart, I test the kidneys - the most secret parts, to give to each man according to his ways, and according to the results of his deeds."  (Jeremiah 17:9-10)

The apostle Paul amplifies this description of men's crooked and desperate hearts:

"And since they did not see fit to acknowledge Yahweh, the LORD God, any longer, He gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which ought not to be done. They became filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, heartless, merciless and ruthless; and, although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them."  (Romans 1:28-32)

But why is man so wicked? Has he always been evil? Is he more wicked now than long ago?

No, man has not always been evil. Man was created perfect. And even Satan, the devil, was not evil at the beginning. Yes, Satan is real; he is a very intelligent being. You might call him "the force of evil," but he is not eternal; he is a created spiritual being. He was a beautiful angel. In Hebrew his name was Helel which means "shining one." He is commonly referred to as Lucifer, and the Bible has given him the names, Satan, the devil, the destroyer, the evil one, and "the god of this age."

His fall from an archangel to a demon occurred when he gave way to an evil thought that germinated in his mind. It is recorded in the book of Isaiah:

"How you have fallen from heaven, O Helel (shining one, Lucifer), son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the ground - you who have ruined the nations - you who said in your heart, 'I will ascend into the highest heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly on the utmost heights of the north. I will ascend higher than the clouds; I will be like the Most High.' But you are thrust down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the pit."  (Isaiah 14:12-15)

It is this same evil one who has brought mankind into the bond­age of evil, and thrown him into a cesspit of corruption.

"And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing - the unbelieving, whose minds the god of this age has blinded so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Messiah, who is the image of God."  (2 Corinthians 4:3-5)

Of course, the whole world is not a cesspit of corruption. And that's because of the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, has delivered countless millions of people from sin and evil, and made them "the salt of the earth." (Matthew 5:13)

And what is the Gospel? It's as the apostle Paul declared:

"Now brethren, I again declare to you the Good News which I have already preached to you - the Good News which you have received, and on which you take your stand; by which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the words that I preached as Good News to you - unless you believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance, that the Messiah died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures."  (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)

But regarding man's heart; God says it is wicked. It's incurable! Is that final? Does it mean there is no hope whatever for man?

For the old heart there is no cure. God says, "I can't do any­thing to improve your old heart. And you can't either! It is simply incurable; but what I can do, is to give you a NEW heart. I can give you a HEART TRANSPLANT, and a guarantee to goes with it!"

We're talking here, of course, not about our physical heart, but our soul - the innermost part of our being. God says:

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; and I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My laws, and you will guard My judgments, and do them."  (Ezekiel 36:26-27)

This is what the Master referred to as being "born again." It is receiving spiritual life. And again Jesus said,

"The thief does not come except to steal, to kill, and to destroy; I have come that they might have life, and might have it beyond measure. I am the Good Shepherd; the Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep."  (John 10:10-11)

When the Lord Jesus (the Good Shepherd) died on the cross of Calvary, He gave "His life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:28). On the basis of the sacrificial death of Christ, as a substitute, for sinners, God can forgive our sin, and give us a new heart - and new life. The glorious result is salvation - our deliverance from the cesspit of evil and darkness.

"For He delivered us from the power and dominion of dark­ness, and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins."  (Colossians 1:13-14)

It is because of the Gospel and the redemptive work of the Messiah at Calvary, that there is still righteousness, love, justice, and goodness on the earth, and that the nations have not totally sunk to the depths of depravity.

But there is a battle going on, in every nation - the battle of Evil against Godliness. At times it looks like Evil is going to win. But no! I've read the Prophets and the Revelation, dear friend, and it's Yahweh, the Lord God Almighty, who wins!

How could it be otherwise?!

The prophecy of Isaiah 2:4 which we have quoted on page 1, will be fulfilled before too long. And so much more.

"For the earth will be full of the knowledge of Yahweh as the waters cover the sea." "Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of Hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory." (Isaiah 11:9. 6:3)

This is speaking of the Messiah's Millennium - the 1,000 years of righteousness that begin after He returns to bring restoration to this corrupt and polluted planet. And after the 1,000 years? Peter explains:

"In keeping with His promise, we are looking forward to new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells."  (2 Peter 3:13)

Those who love darkness rather than light will, of course, not be too keen to live in Messiah's Millennium, nor in the eternal realm of righteousness. And of course, they won't!

But my question to you, my reader: On what side are you? Are you on the side of Righteousness, or the side of Evil? On the side of God, or the side of Satan? If you are not sure on which side you stand, then why don't you call upon the LORD God and ask Him to give you a new heart, and to place you in His Kingdom, right now? He loves you, and has provided for your salvation. The guarantee the Lord Jesus gives is:

"My sheep hear and listen to My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; and no-one will snatch them out of My hand."  (John 10:27-28)

 

A fear is spreading in Britain and a number of other nations concerning Genetically-Modified food.

Scientists have discovered a disturbing unintended consequence of genetic engineering: Pollen from a widely planted, labora­tory-designed strain of corn can kill monarch butterflies.

Monarch caterpillars eating milkweed leaves dusted with pollen from the altered corn plants ate less, grew more slowly and died more quickly. After four days, 44% of them had died as opposed to none of the caterpillars that didn't feed on the pollen.

Monarchs are not an endangered species, but environmental­ists fear that if the genetically-engineered corn is killing the orange-and-black butterflies, it might be killing other insects and doing other unseen damage to the food chain. "The UK's contribution to genetic research has been out of all proportion to its size, and it is well placed to capitalize on such advances," said a report by the select committee on science and technology.

Prince Charles confronted the Government when he spoke out against the dangers of GM food recently; and British MPs have accused the Government of allowing its key advisory committee on genetic modification to become understaffed and exhausted, jeopardizing the quality of advice its produces.

The British Government has been urged to take a proper lead in the debate on genetically-modified food and to try to pull it out of a morass of "scare stories" and "misconceptions."

Last month (Ap 99) G8 leaders (of US, Germany, France, Britain, Japan, Italy, Canada and Russia) failed to agree to a French plan for a body to police the world food standards, but they will set up global scientific working groups to review genetic modification  questions.      - Daily Telegraph / 10 May 99 / - Rural Weekly / Qld / 4 June 99

 

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